France / A law against industrial closures

The bill being presented is the fruit of repeated promises to pass a law to bar firms from shutting factories, as a stream of industrial layoffs has pushed jobless claims to an all-time high.

Companies that shut down viable industrial sites in France rather than selling them could be fined if draft legislation by lawmakers from the ruling Socialist party becomes law.

The bill being presented on Tuesday is the fruit of repeated promises by Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg to pass a law to bar firms from shutting factories, as a stream of industrial layoffs has pushed jobless claims to an all-time high.

President Francois Hollande is struggling a year into his term to make good on a campaign pledge to pull French industry out of the doldrums. His approval ratings have sunk to as low as 25 percent, a record in modern France.

The draft, dubbed the “Florange Law” after an ArcelorMittal steelworks in eastern France where two blast furnaces were shut last week despite efforts by the government to keep them going, is due to be voted on around mid-year.

Hollande visited the site during his election campaign and, to the cheers of steelworkers, pledged to pass a law forcing viable firms to find buyers for sites they wanted to close.

This month, the workers erected a tombstone to him engraved with the word “betrayal” as ArcelorMittal turned off the furnaces it says are no longer as economically viable as others it operates in northern France.

No law could ban closures under the constitution, but the bill would instead force companies to seek buyers for sites they want to close and then fine them the equivalent of roughly 28,000 euros ($36,700) per worker if they refuse to sell or go ahead with a shutdown without properly seeking a buyer.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via French left to present law against industrial closures | Economy | World Bulletin.