the Presidents of the Republic in the face of factory closures

“Promises are binding only on those who believe them” : the adage would be from Jacques Chirac. In 2003, when a conflict took place at Metaleurop, the President of the Republic sided with the employees, asking “the government to propose legislative provisions so that such scandalous acts do not go unpunished”. Regarding social conflicts, Lionel Jospin explained that he “do not expect everything from the state or the government”. An admission of helplessness for the Prime Minister at the time against Michelin who, in 1999, cut 1,800 jobs.

Several heads of state have opposed plant closures such as Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 against ArcelorMittal in Gandrange (Moselle). It is in front of the employees of this company, in Florange, that François Hollande was to campaign in 2012. Once elected, if he did return on the spot, his promise to reopen the big stoves remained a dead letter. Visiting former Whirlpool employees Monday, November 22 in Amiens (Somme), Emmanuel Macron conceded his own failure in industrial policy. “We got caught collectively”, did he declare.