“In front of us there are people who do not want to give us gifts”: while industries close again in France, the Minister of Industry asks Europe not to be naive

“The situation is not satisfactory,” admitted this Thursday, October 30, the Minister of Industry, Sébastien Martin, on the set of BFM Business. And rightly so, the state industrial barometer, prepared by the General Directorate of Companies (DGE), reveals that in the first half of 2025 only 44 factory openings were recorded compared to 82 closures in the same period.

Although the reactivation of industrial activity in France is one of the government’s priorities, the situation appears to have deteriorated since last year, in the second half of 2024, the DGE revealed an almost balanced balance with 61 site openings and 60 closures.

Significant expansions

However, in addition to the openings and closures, 86 factories have also carried out expansions, which the minister said is a good thing.

“So if we put [les ouvertures] With the expansion of the facilities, we maintain a positive balance,” he added. The DGE barometer indicates, however, that 42 factories have made “significant reductions” in their area of ​​activity.

Political instability

However: “political instability does not help,” admitted the Minister of Industry. “It cost 0.3 growth points, that is, 9 billion euros, probably several thousand jobs,” he said.

Although the sector has been in decline since the 1970s, the different governments of Emmanuel Macron’s two terms in office wanted to start a movement to “reindustrialize” the country, to no avail. To meet this challenge, Sébastien Martin aims to “[s’]support local elected officials, whether intermunicipal or regional.”

Faced with international competition

Sébastien Martin also called for “moving away from naivety on a number of issues and, in particular, on international and Asian competition.”

“In front of us there are people who do not want to give us gifts.” The Minister of Industry reiterated France’s ambitions at European level. “The wish of France is [l’Europe] “A huge market, a huge factory,” he argued.

Regarding the European calendar for the decarbonization of the automobile industry, the minister stated that he “understands the arguments of the Germans” who ask to postpone the deadline for the ban on sales of thermal cars, now scheduled for 2035. However, “we should not change the dates every four mornings,” he warned.