“Redemption is necessary, but not sufficient.” It is in these terms that Damien Meslot judges the takeover of the nuclear branch of General Electric by EDF, which must be formalized, in Belfort, this Thursday, February 10, by Emmanuel Macron. The mayor of the city of the Lion wishes this redemption. “I’ve been calling for it since 2020”, he said. But he wants guarantees on jobs and investments.
jobs and investments
While GE had promised 1,000 additional jobs, the reality has been quite different in recent years, with 1,300 jobs lost. Under these conditions, Damien Meslot wants details on this takeover. “I want all services to be affected by this takeover, not just the production of Arabelle turbines (intended for nuclear power plants), he insists. _I want to know what the outlook is for employees_what will be EDF’s strategy, what will be the budget committed to the new subsidiary to be created, what will be the investments…”
The mayor of Belfort does not hide his questions about EDF’s strategyin particular vis-à-vis Rosatom, the national company for Russian atomic energy. “Today, it is both GE’s main customer, but also a competitor for EDF.”
Three files pending
Damien Meslot intends to take advantage of the arrival of Emmanuel Macron, this Thursday, to also make progress on three important files for his city. This concerns the signing of the contract for the sale of 130 Ukrainian locomotives to Alstom, the installation of the hydrogen manufacturer McPhy (with 400 jobs at stake) and the establishment of the Isthy laboratory (also specialized in hydrogen ) awaiting financing from the Banque des Territoires. “We will judge the effectiveness of the State, according to the answers that will be given to our requests”he says.
The mayor of Belfort is waiting “a helping hand” of State, seven years after the controversial takeover of Alstom’s energy activities by GE in 2015, which Emmanuel Macron approved when he was Minister of the Economy. He also asks the current Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire to give formal notice to General Electric for non-compliance with commitments made at the time.
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