BELFORT, France — The French state placed a huge order Tuesday for high-speed trains to save an Alstom factory where up to 400 jobs were under threat, its latest bid to shore up the country’s shrinking manufacturing base.
The deal for the plant in Belfort, eastern France, includes orders for 15 high-speed trains for a regional service and another six for the Paris-Turin-Milan route.
The package also entails Alstom investing 40 million euros ($45 million) in the historic Belfort factory, which was the pride of locals — and the envy of Europe — after producing France’s first TGV high-speed train in 1978.
“Thanks to the mobilization of the state and the commitment of everyone, the Alstom site at Belfort is saved!” Prime Minister Manuel Valls tweeted after the deal was announced.
The future of the plant had threatened to become a major issue in the campaign for next year’s presidential election after Alstom, which is 20 percent state-owned, announced last month it would halt production at the plant by 2018.
There were cheers at a rally of Alstom workers in the city when the news of the deal came through.
The senator for the region, Cedric Perrin of the opposition right-wing Republicans party, gave a cautious welcome to the new orders. But he added: “From now on, Alstom is going to have to win new markets.”
Alstom caused dismay last month by announcing it planned to cease train production in Belfort and move the activity to a factory 200 km away in Alsace.
The company had cited a lack of orders in France for its decision and promised to offer workers in Belfort jobs at other sites.
But trade unions fought hard to keep trains rolling out of Belfort, putting pressure on the Socialist government to come up with a rescue package.
President Francois Hollande had promised to do everything to save the site.
The orders confirmed Tuesday are intended as the government’s riposte to accusations that it has failed to halt France’s industrial decline.
But opposition politicians were quick to question the motivations behind the state’s largesse.
“It’s good news for the business, but you can see that nothing has been resolved,” former president Nicolas Sarkozy who is campaigning to return to the Elysee Palace next year on the Republicans ticket, said.
“This hastily patched together plan is not up to the challenge,” of saving France’s rail industry, he said in a video posted on Twitter, calling the orders “artificial.”
As part of the deal, the state rail operator SNCF has also ordered 20 diesel locomotives for repair work on trains.
In all, this represents an investment of 30 million euros ($33 million) by the government and SNCF over two years, with another five million euros over three years to modernize the plant.
