The move comes after negotiations last week between the state and Saarstahl, which threatened to temporarily relocate part of Ascoval’s production to Germany due to the cost of electricity in France.
The Hauts-de-France regional council voted on Tuesday to erase 8.3 of the 12 million euros of a loan it had granted in 2019 to the Ascoval steelworks, then owned by the Liberty group, to allow in 2021 its acquisition by the German group Saarstahl.
The move comes after negotiations last week between the state and Saarstahl, which threatened to temporarily relocate part of Ascoval’s production to Germany due to the cost of electricity in France.
The group had given up on Friday after a meeting in Bercy and the announcement of a change in the contract between Ascoval and EDF on January 1.
The loan of 12 million to Ascoval was granted in July 2019 to help the steel plant of Saint-Saulve (North), then in the bosom of the Liberty Steel group, to invest in industrial equipment.
It was added to funding of 25 million from the State, and 10 million from the metropolis of Valenciennes, for a total of 47 million.
Bercy welcomes the measure
The state had also loaned 20 million euros in March 2021, to pay salaries and maintain activity.
In August 2021, the Saarstahl group had taken over the steelworks from Liberty Steel, in financial difficulty, under the conditions of the abandonment of part of these loans by all public funders. The Region had acted in July this measure, the vote on Tuesday relating only to the amount.
The amount was validated by the regional majority with the elected RNs (47 votes), the left groups abstaining (6 votes) and two elected LFI having voted against.
Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Industry was delighted “that the Hauts-de-France region supports the support of the State, which had abandoned in the summer 32 million euros in receivables (out of the 45 loaned by the state in total) to make possible the takeover by Saarstahl, “he told AFP.
The “file is not closed”
On the sustainability of Ascoval’s activities, the president of the region and presidential contender Xavier Bertrand estimated that the “file is not closed”.
“The State today is very tight-fisted concerning the energy tariff, it is true for all the electro-intensive industries of our country”, added Xavier Bertrand.
“I want to save this factory. You too?”, He had launched Friday to President Emmanuel Macron, visiting the Aisne.
Nacim Bardi, CGT union representative (majority) of Ascoval, welcomed the debt waiver. “For an activity to be strong, strong support from the state is needed. There, it is for a good cause, a maintenance of activity,” he told AFP.
The remaining 3.6 million owed to the region must be repaid by August 2024.
The Sainte-Saulve plant, which employs 270 people, produces steel bars dedicated to the manufacture of rails, in particular for the SNCF.
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