ArcelorMittal's French trouble far from over

ArcelorMittal withdrew an application to use the Florange site in northern France for a EU pilot project

A politically-charged deal between the French government and ArcelorMittal to preserve jobs at an ailing steelworks looked at risk of unravelling today after the global steel giant ditched a bid to run a European Union (EU)-funded project there.

ArcelorMittal, 40-per cent owned by the Mittal family, withdrew an application to use the Florange site in northern France for an EU pilot project in less polluting steel that Paris had hoped could keep two idled blast furnaces going.

ArcelorMittal and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the move did not mean the idea of using Florange for the Ultra-low CO2 Steelmaking (ULCOS) "green steel" project was being permanently abandoned, nor that the deal with the French government had been undone. But unions and local politicians reacted angrily.

ArcelorMittal, which has been under fire for months in France over its plan to permanently shut its Florange furnaces on the grounds they are not economically viable, said it could not currently pursue the ULCOS project for technical reasons.

"(This) is perfectly coherent with what is in the agreement signed with the French government," it said, adding: "This in no way means the ULCOS project is being abandoned."

Ayrault, whose government was appointed by Francois Hollande after the Socialist was elected president in May, said in a statement that the European Commission had indicated that the project could be pursued in a future tender.

Yet, in the best case, a potential start-date would now be delayed by several years, throwing into question the idea that ArcelorMittal would keep spending money to keep its mothballed Florange furnaces in viable working order.