“I do not want us to waste time on such a subject,” says Sébastien Martin, Minister Delegate for Industry

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the interview above. Click on the video to watch it in full.

He is the government’s new Minister of Industry and it is an understatement to say that he has his work cut out for him: NovAsco, Vencorex, Teisseire, Michelin… The list of industrial jobs threatened in our country is long.

France Télévisions: We’ll start with the news. It is this vote in the Assembly on Thursday November 27 of the LFI bill aimed at nationalizing the steelmaker ArcelorMittal for its French activities. Aurélie Trouvé, LFI deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis, sponsor of the bill, is not without her argument. Why, in your opinion, is nationalization, even temporary, not the solution?

Sébastien Martin, Minister Delegate for Industry: I would still like to point out that to make steel, you still need a little ore. You need raw materials. This raw material, unless I missed it, is not in France. And ArcelorMittal France is in an international group with raw materials upstream and downstream customers who are also in the group. So if we detach that, it doesn’t make any sense. At the National Assembly, Thursday November 27 from 3 p.m. to midnight, I especially witnessed a great theater between LFI on one side and, on the other side, the National Rally, which throughout the afternoon explained to us that it was against this text, that it was not good, that it wanted to improve it. And in fact, who in the end abstained and therefore gave his support to the France Insoumise approach.

France Télévisions: They have nevertheless found a baroque majority and you who defend, with Sébastien Lecornu, parliamentarism, are you committed to ensuring that this text which has found a majority is transmitted to the Senate, which can be included on the agenda? Is this something that is necessary?

Sébastien Martin: This text is demagogic, this text has neither head nor tail, and we will see whether this text must be examined by the Senate. But I remind you that a few days ago, the Senate examined another bill, not exactly the same as that of Ms. Trouvé, and the Senate overwhelmingly rejected this text. I don’t mind having fun with ArcelorMittal, but I feel like it’s not very serious.

France Télévisions: It is the government which has control over the agenda and therefore which can decide that this text goes to the Senate. It will be rejected in the Senate. It’s obvious, but then he has to come back. Will this text be transmitted?

Sébastien Martin: At the moment, it is not. For the moment, this is not the government’s intentions. For the moment, I think we are rather focused on the budgetary question. I do not want us to waste time on such a subject.

France Télévisions: Others have done this partial nationalization, notably the British. Isn’t it time to take back control?

Sébastien Martin: You take the British example and the Italian example, they are losing hundreds of thousands of euros every day. Every day, the taxpayer finances hundreds of thousands of euros. Second element, let’s not make people believe that we are locked in a bubble. Today, there is the equivalent of Asian overproduction of steel which is five times the European market. France has obtained what are called safeguard clauses at European level. The safeguard clauses are very simple: from a certain volume, around 15% of what arrives today from Asia, you have customs duties that apply and which reduce the price of Asian steel to the price at which we find it on the market.

Watch the full interview in the video above