France President visited the Florand Closed Plant, which he promised to keep while still a presidential candidate

France President Francois Hollande visited the Florand Metallurgical Plant in northeast France. The stop of blast furnaces at the enterprise has become one of the most resonant domestic political events for all the 16-month rule of the new president, which, while still presidential candidate, visited this particular plant and promised to do everything possible to prevent the closure of such enterprises. Now Hollande promises to control the situation and is going to regularly visit the plant in order to personally make sure that its owner, the company Arcelormittal, fulfills the agreement concluded with the state.

“The steel industry has a future in Lorraine,” Hollande said during his visit to Florand. The president also said that the government will continue to finance the research center in the city. The trade union leaders thanked him for the visit, but at the same time they said that they still feel deceived.

In November 2012, the world's largest metallurgical company Arcelor Mittal decided to intention to preserve domain stoves and collapse production at the Floral factory. Thus, the Indian company challenged the French government, which accused Arcelor Mittal of malicious non -fulfillment of its obligations and dismissal of 600 plant employees. The Minister of Industry Arno Monteur even made a sharp statement in which he questioned the expediency of the Indian company in France. Workers turned to the government with a request to temporarily nationalize the enterprise, however, officials agreed only to find a new buyer. As a result, Prime Minister Jean-Mark Iro held a number of negotiations with the owner of the Indian company, who agreed to sell the plant, but there were no people who wanted to purchase it yet. Theoretically, the enterprise can be opened no earlier than 2016, since it is then that experts predict an increase in demand in the metal rolling market.

The visit of the French president to Florange, a professor of political science of the Paris Institute of Political Research, Laurent Dubois commented as follows: “This step for Hollande is very risky, it resembles the return of the attacker to the crime scene.”