The Arabelle turbine, a gleaming 300-tonne monster, is illuminated like a collector’s item by spotlights. It serves as the background to the speech of Emmanuel Macron, whose voice resounds like in a cathedral under the huge sheet metal roof of the General Electric (GE) factory in Belfort. Posters “France 2030 is where it’s happening!” » supervise the Head of State. His image consultant, Arnaud Jolens, white cap on his head, supervises the details of the scenography, which he himself imagined. The tenant of the Elysée is not here campaigning for the presidential election of April 10 and 24. Not officially, at least. On this Thursday, February 10, he came to announce the “rebirth” of the French nuclear industry, praising the “sovereignty” national and praise the merits of the ” planning “.
In other words, displaying the ambition of “regaining control of our energy destiny”, in a semantic borrowing from the slogan of Brexit supporters. All in front of the former mayor of the city, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, herald of left-wing sovereignty, delighted. And what do heads to tails matter?
Two months before the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron has come to turn the page on past commitments and unfortunate episodes. In particular that of the sale, in 2015, of the energy branch of the French Alstom to the American General Electric, which he supervised as deputy secretary general of the Elysée, first, then as minister of the economy. . According to the current mayor (Les Républicains, LR) of Belfort, Damien Meslot, 1,300 jobs have since been lost at the site, which produces the turbines for nuclear power plants.
Upon his arrival, the Head of State meets employees to purge the case. One “carnage”drops one of them. “At the time, I was a collaborator when it happened”minimizes Emmanuel Macron, who evokes “the choice of a private company”. “It was not the state that was at the head of Alstom”he adds, arguing that his “predecessor [à Bercy]the ministers of the time, learned about it very late”. The damage has been repaired since EDF announced on Thursday morning that it had reached an agreement to buy back part of GE Steam Power, which produces Arabelle turbines. “ You are sometimes given a somewhat unfair trial.defends Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who, on the contrary, thanks Emmanuel Macron, in a well-rehearsed role-playing game, for having “wet his shirt for Arabelle’s recovery”.
In turn, Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of EDF, takes the microphone and distributes the congratulations. Since the accident in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, “it was nuclear winter”. “There, the first springs return”, he rejoices. Especially since Emmanuel Macron promised, in November 2021, to relaunch the construction of reactors in France. The whole sector is impatient to have something concrete to eat. But the Head of State first wants to take a detour before specifying his plan.
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