A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #356 - Spontaneous Strikes at Arcelor Dunkirk Amid Endless Restructuring (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Since the announcement last April by Arcelor group management of a new 
redundancy plan, strikes have multiplied at the Dunkirk site. Behind the 
scenes, the vested interests of industrialists from various sectors and 
local decision-makers are intertwined. ---- From Usinor to Arcelor ---- 
In Dunkirk, Usinor was created in 1962 and immediately established 
itself as one of the most important steelmaking sites in the region. 
Firstly, due to its infrastructure, the factory covers 25 km², but also 
due to the size of its workforce, which reached 11,400 employees by the 
mid-1970s. At that time, workers were recruited from no fewer than 200 
surrounding towns and villages; some were former miners who had 
retrained, others steelworkers relocated from eastern France. Industrial 
restructuring was already beginning to take effect. This sheer size did 
not, however, mean that the workforce was concentrated there as in other 
sectors, such as the automotive industry. Usinor was spread across 
several separate sites, far apart from one another. Today, after decades 
of production consolidation, only 3,500 direct jobs and about a thousand 
subcontractors remain at the factory.

Lobbying and Public Money
Arcelor has 40 production sites in France, employing some 15,000 people. 
In May 2025, the group's management announced the elimination of 600 
jobs, primarily in Dunkirk and Florange, as well as the closure of its 
smaller plants in Reims and Denain (1). The management's argument, 
invariably the same, cites: "unfair competition (2), insufficient 
demand, and excessively high production costs." While it is true that 
steel demand in France has fallen by 20% over the past five years, and 
the sector is facing a global crisis of overproduction (3), over time, 
this rhetoric has allowed steel barons, whether of Lorraine or Indian 
origin, to amass billions of public funds, alternately using their 
networks of influence and blackmail over employment.

Alarmed that "the steel industry in Europe is in crisis" and that "all 
sites are at risk," the president of Arcelor France has been calling for 
EU protection and higher tariffs. Meanwhile, the group is freezing its 
investments in CO2 emission reduction, particularly at its Fos and 
Dunkirk sites. This decision seems incomprehensible at first glance, 
given that the company is simultaneously lamenting that CO2 emissions 
are reducing the selling price of its steel by 10%.

In reality, it's a windfall and a matter of timing (4). With its France 
2030 plan, the French government has announced it will allocate EUR4.5 
billion to decarbonize industry and is preparing to disburse EUR13.6 
million in aid to the Dunkirk industrial and port area, which ranks 
second among the top greenhouse gas emitters. Once again, it will be a 
matter of waiting and knowing how to position oneself...

Decarbonization, electrification, mystification
For both the steelmaker and the CGT union, decarbonization begins with 
the electrification of production. The idea seems self-evident, 
especially since the Gravelines nuclear power plant is located just a 
stone's throw from the steel complex. Arcelor will relentlessly make 
contradictory announcements on the subject, using misleading 
communication. Hoping to reassure both the government and employees, the 
group simultaneously announces a large-scale redundancy plan and a 
EUR1.7 billion investment in the construction of electric furnaces. In 
the end, the company scales back its ambitions and changes course; the 
electrification of production is no longer on the agenda. At the Mardyck 
site, a short distance from Dunkirk, only 500 million euros will now be 
invested, not in electric furnaces as previously announced, but in three 
production lines for "electric steel," obtained from recycled scrap 
metal and intended for the production of car engines.

Nuclear power in the face of rising sea levels
Let's pause for a moment to consider the implications of replacing coal 
with electricity in the steelmaking process. As we have written, the 
Gravelines nuclear power plant is considered the essential player in 
this conversion. It is the key to the "ecological transition" of the 
Dunkirk industrial basin and is the focus of considerable attention, 
especially since the recent establishment of new energy-intensive 
industries such as gigafactories (5).
Commissioned in 1974, the Gravelines nuclear power plant is among those 
whose lifespan is continually extended beyond the standards established 
at the time of construction. Two EPR 2 reactors are slated to replace 
the aging structure by 2040, but the project faces significant 
constraints. For example, the density of the EPR reactors is twice that 
of the currently operating plant. The mechanical characteristics of the 
soil located on the coast are deemed poor by the ASNR (French Nuclear 
Safety Authority), as it is too unstable over a considerable depth (6). 
Furthermore, the risks of submersion and soil liquefaction are now 
proven due to coastal erosion and rising sea levels...

"A spontaneous strike" It was in this context that, in early December, a 
spontaneous strike surprised both the company's management and the CGT 
(General Confederation of Labour). According to the union, the factory 
was operating at only 30% of its capacity and a blast furnace had been 
shut down. It should be noted that this movement arose within the very 
official framework of the annual wage negotiations (NAO), which were 
suspended at the time. The mobilization reportedly originated in sectors 
of the factory not usually known for their activism. The demands, 
however, remained quite conventional: wage increases, bonuses, improved 
working conditions, hygiene, etc.
This was enough for the CGT union representative to declare this episode 
"historic, unprecedented." (7) According to him, the situation was "in 
an insurrectionary state... given how the movement started, it's beyond 
our control... some departments that had never gone on strike before are 
now mobilizing, and these are not CGT strongholds." As for management, 
they cited "the seriousness of the economic situation" as a pretext and 
"urged" the workers to "return to work as soon as possible." "In this 
instance, it would seem that resistance to restructuring has become 
intertwined with more immediate demands. The announcement of a new 
redundancy plan in a context of wage cuts and deteriorating working 
conditions may have encouraged grassroots activism. But in the game of 
bluff being played by both the group's management and the union 
representatives, nothing suggests the path the strikers will take in the 
coming months; perhaps they themselves don't know: is this a fit of 
temper or a broader aspiration to break free from certain constraints? 
(8) In this context, the CGT's often impassioned pronouncements resemble 
an invitation extended to management at the very moment when the 
National Assembly is once again voting to nationalize the site." In any 
case, this struggle is part of a new cycle of company closures that 
employers are vigorously pursuing, and it is within this context that 
the balance of power must be assessed.

When Nationalization Resurfaces
The nationalization of ArcelorMittal has been a demand championed in 
Dunkirk by the CGT union for over a year and taken up in a pre-election 
context by parliamentary left-wing parties, with La France Insoumise 
(LFI) at the forefront. It resurfaces with each restructuring, but this 
time, the National Assembly adopted it in its first reading on Thursday, 
November 27, 2025. However, there is little chance that the bill will 
pass the Senate, where the right and center hold a majority.

In the early 1970s, the nationalization of key sectors was included in 
the "Common Program of Government" drawn up at the time by the Socialist 
Party (PS) and the French Communist Party (PCF). At the end of the 
decade, with the "steel crisis," it became the rallying cry of the CGT 
union at Usinor, whose slogan was "Only one solution: nationalization." 
It did indeed happen, once the left came to power. At the time, the SLT 
(Usinor-Dunkerque Workers' Struggle Union)(9), created at the initiative 
of activists who had left the CGT and a number of others ousted from the 
CFDT, which was then undergoing a major shift towards the center, 
outlined its limitations and stated: "Nationalization does not 
necessarily offer a prospect of struggle."(10) Currently, in a period of 
decline, nationalization seems to offer, in the eyes of some, a 
guarantee against a highly uncertain future.

Nationalization and its lessons
Let's return to an episode that occurred within the newly nationalized 
company. On June 4, 1982, a steel projectile struck five workers 
operating a continuous casting machine at steelworks number 2. Two of 
them died, one an hour after the accident, the other five days later. A 
power struggle immediately ensued between the SLT (Syndicat des 
Travailleurs de Travailleurs - Workers' Union of Labor) and Usinor 
management. The union held management entirely responsible for the 
deaths of these two workers. The factory hierarchy reacted by 
orchestrating a setup against a union representative, whom they 
suspended and then managed to dismiss, overriding the labor inspector's 
decision (11). The left was then in power; it was they who had 
nationalized the factory, and, as usual, they sided with order and class 
justice.

On February 26, 1983, Pierre Mauroy, questioned by SLT activists during 
a city council meeting at Lille City Hall, praised "the struggle of the 
Usinor workers." On the left, they readily spoke of "new citizenship 
within the company"-it was the era of the Auroux laws... But no matter, 
at the same time, the Prime Minister's office decided in favor of 
management. In a letter addressed to the SLT, it declared that: "The 
government respects the management autonomy of nationalized companies 
and has no intention of intervening in labor relations within these 
companies." Labor relations based on exploitation are precisely what the 
left will never address, nationalization or not!

In May 1977, members of the Communist Party at the Usinor steelworks 
organized a referendum in favor of nationalization at the plant exit. 
One of them understood the implications, reflecting that: "Even if we 
manage to get rid of the steel industry's management, the executives and 
supervisors will still be there..."

Boulogne-sur-Mer, December 18, 2025

Notes
(1) The redundancy plan was approved by the government on December 17. 
608 jobs are being cut, including 84 in Dunkirk and 4 in Mardyck.

(2) "Unfair competition," a perfect truism.

(3) According to the OECD, steel overproduction is expected to reach 721 
million tonnes by 2027. China remains the world's leading producer with 
1,882.6 million tonnes in 2024, compared to 130 million for the EU and 
11 million for France.

(4) The amount of public aid received by Arcelor is impressive and 
difficult to determine precisely: EUR392 million in state aid since 
2013, according to an investigation; EUR192 million in tax credits; 
EUR100 million in aid to reduce electricity bills; preferential state 
loans; EUR4.5 million in aid from the environmental agency; and EUR56 
million from the state and local authorities to modernize its 
facilities. On the EU side, aid disbursed since 2008 amounts to EUR4.7 
billion. Finally, from 2006 to 2021, through business operations, 
Arcelor amassed EUR3.2 billion by reselling surplus waste destined for 
pollution.

(5) In early December, the Vektor electric battery plant was 
inaugurated, the third company to be established after those in 
Billy-Berclau and Lambres-lez-Douai.

(6) The ASNR (French Nuclear Safety Authority) outlines its expectations 
regarding the soil reinforcement system required for the construction of 
EPR2 reactors at the Gravelines site: https://www.asnr.fr/actualites/lasn...
(7) This is not "unprecedented," contrary to what this delegate claims. 
Usinor's labor history was marked during the 1970s and 80s by 
spontaneous, wildcat, and hunger strikes...
(8) Recently, there has been a resurgence of grassroots initiatives, 
such as the wildcat strikes at the SNCF Technicentre in Châtillon, and 
the national strike movement of employees in the "train sales department."

(9) Brochure from the CFDT union section dissolved by the federation on 
June 1, 1979: "In the struggles, the building of the Usinor-Dunkerque 
CFDT section: a fight we continue." June 1979.
(10) Regarding an evening of public debate that we organized with 
comrades from the SLT at the Boulogne-sur-Mer municipal library: 
https://lamouetteenragee.noblogs.or...
(11) SLT brochure from April 1983: At Usinor Dunkerque - a nationalized 
company - a scandalous and illegal dismissal.

https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4614
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