PARIS (FRANCE) – France should make investments in a Bridgestone plant in the north of the country threatened with closure, said the head of the regional government where the factory is located on Sunday. This comes ahead of a ministerial visit to the plant.
Xavier Bertrand, a former minister, heads the Hauts-de-France region where the plant is located and he is planning to contest against Macron.
The government condemned the move by Bridgestone of Japan to close the factory at Bethune, which employs more than 800 workers.
Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne is slated to pay a visit to the Bethune plant on Monday.
A conservative, Bertrand was health minister in the government of Nicolas Sarkozy and he told Europe 1 radio “everything must be done” to prevent the closure of the factory, citing a precedent in Italy where the government invested in a Bridgestone plant to avert closure and save 60% of its jobs.