The French parliament has backed the nationalisation of ArcelorMittal’s assets for the second time

The company described the debate on this issue as biased

At the end of last week, the French National Assembly voted in favour of a bill to nationalise ArcelorMittal’s French assets at its second reading, according to Le Parisien.

The bill, tabled by the ‘Unbowed France’ (LFI) party, had already been passed at first reading in autumn 2025, but was rejected by the Senate in February 2026 and returned to the National Assembly for a second reading. The text must now be considered by the Senate once again.

According to its authors, the bill aims to preserve France’s industrial sovereignty. It has faced widespread criticism from right-wing and centre-right forces, and last November, Economy Minister Roland Lescure described the document as a “populist response to a structural problem”.

It is estimated that the nationalisation of ArcelorMittal France will cost €3 billion.

In his response, ArcelorMittal France President Alain Le Grix de la Salle described the debate on the nationalisation of French assets as deeply biased.

“The narrative is designed to convince people that ArcelorMittal is unwilling to invest in decarbonisation or is in the process of leaving France, and that therefore only nationalisation can save French steel,” he noted.

De la Salle pointed out that ArcelorMittal employs nearly 15,000 people in France, has around 100 sites in the country, including 40 industrial and 5 research centres, and is a major industrial player in the region.

Over the past five years, the company has invested €1.7 billion in France, excluding decarbonisation.

In February last year, ArcelorMittal announced its first major investment in decarbonisation – €1.3 billion for the construction of an electric arc furnace in Dunkirk.

“At the time, we explained that the decarbonisation of our facilities would be carried out in stages, based on future demand for carbon-neutral steel and by replicating the Dunkirk model. It was also noted that there are currently no conditions in Europe for DRI production, given the energy crisis and, consequently, the price of gas,” explained de la Salle.

Like all European steel producers, he noted, the company is suffering from falling demand and competition, particularly from China.

However, “leaving France” is not on the agenda. The quota system introduced by the EU, together with the CBAM, offers new prospects for French and European steel. The real debate today concerns customers and value chains, which are under serious threat of relocation or even disappearance.

It is worth recalling that last year, Alain Le Grix de la Salle, in an interview with Franceinfo, noted that nationalisation would in no way solve the problems facing the company. He emphasised that ArcelorMittal’s French facilities are affected by global overcapacity and destructive imports, particularly from Asia.