The French National Assembly adopted a La France insoumise bill on November 27 to nationalize ArcelorMittal's French sites. Carried by MP Aurélie Trouvé, the text addresses an April layoffs plan and aims to relaunch decarbonization efforts. Its passage, largely symbolic, is likely to stall in the Senate.
On November 27, 2025, after overnight debates during La France insoumise (LFI)'s parliamentary slot, the French National Assembly approved in first reading a bill to nationalize the French operations of steel giant ArcelorMittal. The text targets about 40 sites across the country, including the major steelworks in Dunkerque (Nord) and Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône). Carried by MP Aurélie Trouvé (Seine-Saint-Denis), the initiative passed in the finance committee on November 19 thanks to left-wing unity and Rassemblement national (RN) abstention.
The final vote was 128 in favor and 40 against. The left supported the bill, the far right abstained, and the government camp, sparsely mobilized, voted against. Mathilde Panot, LFI group president, hailed a «historical victory». Backed by part of the left and several unions, the measure aims to counter ArcelorMittal's April layoffs plan, relaunch blast furnace decarbonization, and prevent potential delocalization in a sector hit by Chinese competition.
Yet the process is far from straightforward. Rémy Blain, partner at Addleshaw Goddard law firm, calls nationalization «an extremely aggressive legal procedure», noting that private property is generally inviolable in France. As the state struggles to balance its 2026 budget, the operation would require colossal investments and face uncertain valuation of the group, which posts global profits but where Europe is a weak link. Largely symbolic, the text is expected to face right-wing opposition in the Senate, the next legislative step.