The plan to nationalize ArcelorMittal was rejected in the Senate.

Adopted at the last minute in the National Assembly at the end of November at the initiative of La France insoumise, the bill to nationalize the French assets of the steel giant has been placed on the agenda of the Senate by the communists in their reserved space.

The Senate, where the right and center hold a majority, rejected the main article of the bill by 227 votes against, with 112 senators voting in favor.

The government opposes the nationalization project, a "decoy", according to Industry Minister Sébastien Martin, who spoke at the podium and denounced it as a "showcase text".

According to him, ArcelorMittal's confirmation two weeks ago of the construction of its largest electric furnace in Europe at the Dunkirk site "demonstrates a group that wants to stay in France and continue to produce here, with our French sites and employees."

The minister said he regretted the social plan announced in April by the group, but reaffirmed that "it is not by nationalizing that we will give real prospects to employees".

Senators from the right and center stressed that nationalization will not solve the structural difficulties of the European steel industry, linked to global overcapacity, the cost of energy or unfair competition.

Senator Marie-Claude Lermytte (The Independents) recalled the estimated cost of this nationalization, more than 4 billion euros, which "would weigh heavily on our public finances".

"If we are going to invest billions in the steel industry, we would prefer that the State co-invest with ArcelorMittal to decarbonize all these sites in France and produce the steel of the future that our industry needs," she said.

The left, which voted in favor, pointed to the massive public subsidies the group had received. "Millions of euros," which "lined the pockets of ArcelorMittal's shareholders" rather than preventing deindustrialization, denounced the president of the communist group, Cécile Cukierman.

CGT mobilization

"Let's not kid ourselves. The investments announced by ArcelorMittal in Dunkirk don't even compensate for the job cuts announced at the same time," added the socialist Rémi Féraud.

After the vote, the leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, reacted on X: "So the right approves the liquidation of the French steel industry. Did Mittal at least thank them?", he wrote.

Some 250 activists from different CGT federations had gathered in the morning near the Senate, to demand nationalization.

"Today, the second half begins. Whatever the result, the match will be played in extra time," said the union's general secretary, Sophie Binet, before the Senate vote, referring to another vote scheduled in the National Assembly on June 11.

"Without the nationalization of ArcelorMittal, there will be no more French or European steel," she asserted, denouncing the "symbol of the abdication of political leaders in the face of the forces of money."

"We didn't believe it, but we started to have hope," Gaëtan Lecocq, from the Dunkirk site, told reporters regarding the National Assembly's vote. "This is the hope of French industry because a country without industry is a country that doesn't exist."

Before the recent announcement of the electric furnace, the steel giant had suspended its decarbonization investment plans in Europe since the end of 2024 and announced in April a social plan in France, the relevance of which is called into question by an expert report commissioned by the Social and Economic Committee (CSE).