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The Ford site in Blanquefort, near Bordeaux, is at the heart of a battle between the American manufacturer and the French state. The car group will close the plant and refused, last December, an offer of recovery, causing anger in Paris. This Saturday, March 2, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Secretary of State to the Minister of Economy, explained on Europe 1 that France could " push Ford " to invest " several million euros ".
The standoff between the French state and Ford is not over. In recent days, after confirmation by the US automaker of the rejection of a takeover bid for its Blanquefort site in the Gironde, French leaders have multiplied hostile statements, and even threats.
The French state wants to pay Ford. President Emmanuel Macron has already indicated that he wants to " force the company to revitalize the site ". The Minister of the Economy, Bruno the Mayor , also said this week that he would never "give up " and that Ford had to " pay ".
His secretary of state, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, took over this Saturday on Europe 1 : " We can use legal levers, we can use their reputation lever, because despite everything, they are not very help with this story. And so, yes, we are able to push them to put several millions, maybe even several tens, to accompany the reconversion of the site. "
No details on the legal levers mentioned by the Minister, but negotiations between the French State and the manufacturer are still ongoing. Some 850 people are employed on the site, which Ford plans to close permanently in six months, after judging the offer of recovery " risky ".
Some unions, such as the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), would like the state to nationalize the site, at least temporarily, in order to set up a real industrial strategy on the spot. Track considered a time, then finally rejected by the government.