“Mittals have not respected France”
Arnaud Montebourg, the French Minister for Industrial Renewal, has reiterated his earlier remarks against the Mittal family saying: “When I say we do not want the Mittals in France I mean we no longer want Mittal’s methods in France. Methods that fail to respect commitments made, methods of blackmail and threats. The problem of the blast furnaces in Florange is not that of the blast furnaces but that of Mittal.”
Accusing the Mittal family of trotting out lies, Mr. Montebourg said: “The lies they have told since 2006 are devastating.”
The Minister made these remarks after the Mittal family had expressed “extreme shock” over his earlier attacks in which he said: “We do not want the Mittals in France because they have not respected France.”
Mr. Montebourg also said the French state could “temporarily nationalise” the steel plant in Florange, north-eastern France because the blast furnaces have been shut down by the Mittal family.
The chairman of Arcelor Mittal, Lakshmi Mittal, is scheduled to meet President Hollande to discuss the fate of the plant in Paris on Tuesday, just a few days ahead of a Saturday deadline that could result in a total shutdown of the plant.
He has threatened to close down all Arcelor Mittal plants in France if there is any attempt at nationalisation.
Last October Mr. Mittal had promised Mr. Hollande that he would find a buyer for the site. But he does not wish to sell the entire plant, just the blast furnaces, which he has shut down for good.
Keywords: Florange steel plant issue, Lakshmi Mittal, Mittal group, French investment, Arcelor Mittal plants
News coming from France, USA, Maldives,Germany, Uzbekistan, among others, have to be properly analyzed to draw appropriate conclusions. Globalization has provided green pastures for our entrepreneurs to make use of their ability. Georgia, Ethiopia, Argentina have expressed their desire to welcome our hard-working farmers. Good so. Let us recognize realities so that we can come to terms with problems. We need them and they need us. They have permitted our entrepreneurs to practice their skills there. That has opened new doors for our country-men, just as we have opened our doors for them. The world has become broad. However, well-organized societies are dissatisfied with what they call the horde behavior, colonial mentality, tricks of the trade, unethical practices, and lack of concern for the fellow beings, that damage their systems. The speed and direction of acculturation will be influenced by such earlier experiences.
While the piece makes for interesting reading,the reader is left hanging because it is delightfully vague as to the nature of the problem between Mittal and France except for an equally tantalising statement by the French Minister who has charged Mittals of mendacity.One,of course,is fed a tidbit by way of Mittal
threatening to close down all Arcelor plants in France if that Government contemplates Nationalization.
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