"We will win. It's the fight of our lives": ArcelorMittal, editors-in-chief of L'Humanité from their Dunkirk factory

Mardyck (North), special envoys.

At ArcelorMittal, there are those who collect and those who bank. On Tuesday, May 6, while the steel giant's shareholders held their annual general meeting in Luxembourg, where the issue was to pay them more than last year's €1.577 billion in dividends and share buybacks , employees at the Dunkirk and Mardyck sites, deprived of a raise this year despite walkouts, had a completely different commitment.

Fifteen days after the announcement of a plan to cut 636 jobs , half of them in the Dunkirk factories, around thirty of these steel professionals met at the editorial office of L'Humanité, in the works council offices, to take the reins of a decentralized editorial conference. "In the history of the newspaper, this is the first time we've done this," rejoices Maud Vergnol, co-editor, as she sets up the newspaper's "railroad" under construction. Ludovic Finez, the correspondent for the stage, is already on site.

It's been a good quarter of an hour since 9:30, and the pace is picking up. Seated alongside the editors in front of the Wednesday edition's "procession," union signs recalling their exploits spread across the walls behind them, the day's "red chefs" in red vests didn't play coy for long. You have to get going when it comes to saving the flagship of the French steel industry from the sabotage of your own captain of industry.

It was mutually agreed that the newspaper's "Foreground" section would be devoted to their struggle: the Arcelor family seized on the debates on the "angles" and hierarchy of the articles to first denounce the opaque management of the group controlled by the Mittal family. "Depending on whether you are at the CSE Europe, France or Mardyck, the figures are always different. Mittal is the king of vagueness and lies. Everything is decided in Luxembourg. And when you listen to the site managers, their favorite phrase is: "I have no room for maneuver," assures Ludovic Putter, CGT representative at the CSE of Mardyck.

Over time, employee representatives have developed a keen sense of the next blow to the group's business. Employees are quick to frame the content of today's articles, outlining the situation and the responsibilities that are leading them to the brink. After the 130 positions to be eliminated in Reims and Denain in 2024, and the 636 jobs that management would like to eliminate in 2025 at eight sites to better relocate support functions to India, their eyes are turning anxiously toward the blast furnaces in Dunkirk. The last two are still smoking in France.

Mittal has indeed dangled the prospect of a €1.8 billion project to replace old, polluting furnaces with electric ones. Despite the promised €850 billion in public aid, the CGT's sleuths no longer believe in the "decarbonization" commitments and sense management's intention to shut down the hot steel casting plants made in France (1,500 jobs affected) in favor of massive imports of ingots from India or Brazil, where the multinational is truly investing.

"ArcelorMittal is pulling the wool over the eyes of the government services, they haven't invested anything for thirty years," thunders Gaëtan Lecocq, wearing a CGT-labeled helmet, as he arrives red-faced from his first video meeting with Industry Minister Marc Ferracci . "There's only one solution left: nationalization."

Some people sense that they may not be able to fight the battle to the end from their workstations. Is it anger? Or sadness? There's surely both in Aline's misty eyes. At 52, with 23 of those years spent at the company, this IT specialist learned two weeks ago that her name was "on the list of jobs to be eliminated." At first, there was "denial" : "I had to take care of others. Then, I took a day off and, in the privacy of my family, I realized that I was really affected..."

Then, the dizziness. How to cope with the loss of salary? What to do for the youngest, finishing her studies, who was planning to go to Portugal at the start of the school year? "I'm asking myself questions I'd never thought of. I've always worked. I have more than twelve years left before retirement. I can't imagine a forced period without work," says the CGT union representative, whose father also toiled at Arcelor.

These questions, which journalists jot down on the fly in the improvised newsroom, are being asked by 636 people in France today. But the concern goes far beyond those most directly affected. Between coffee and a glance at the clock that dictates the pace of the newspaper to be written – there are still other subjects to review: Xi Jinping's visit to Russia, the protests against Tesla , the rise in rental evictions , and space is limited – Richard, a line operator at the Mardyck site, says he is on his third layoff plan in twenty years, first at a subsidiary of Alcatel, then at Tioxide and finally at Arcelor. "My job is not threatened... today," tempers this father of four.

Everyone fears political promises without follow-up, like in 2013 under François Hollande . There are knowing glances in the room, the oldest members of L'Humanité recalling the 2012 presidential campaign and the rallies in Florange perched on the roofs of vans. "Mittal is doing exactly the same thing again," says a dejected Philippe, who pouts whenever François Bayrou is mentioned at the editorial conference. The negligence of the public authorities coupled with pressure from Europe makes Mathieu, a 40-year-old foundry worker, say that he is "resigned." He even thinks that "everything will disappear." "Management continues to say that everything is fine, but one day, it will be a crushing blow," he worries. " I can see that we are being prepared for it, between the lack of investment, the deterioration of equipment, and the drop in orders."

The dilapidated state of ArcelorMittal's infrastructure has become an unpleasant work companion for everyone. "Arcelor is a pressure cooker in the middle of the Dunkirk metropolitan area," which has 28 Seveso sites, warns Ludovic. After a show of hands to decide which topics should be discussed on the society and world pages, the audience becomes tense and the discussion turns to the point where employees discuss their working conditions, which are constantly deteriorating, to the point of becoming dangerous. Philippe Lux has worked at the Mardyck site for thirty years. He has held every position on its production line.

When the Humanité team entered, he told everyone about the reduction in staff numbers, which had been cut by a factor of three since he started. "They keep telling us that automation allows us to reduce staff numbers. But robots don't replace people, especially when the machines break down." The union representative listed the risks, such as gas leaks from furnaces, which can cause asphyxiation. He also pulled out his cell phone, with a photo of a leak from a zinc vat: "They can cause very serious burns."

This is confirmed by Christophe Delhelle, an operations technician in Dunkirk. He mentions the furnace alarms, which go off so often that no one pays attention to them anymore, even though they signal the presence of gas. "Before, we focused a lot on prevention, we dismantled the pipes before they became clogged. Today, maintenance is completely neglected."

He also mentions toxic management, imposed work rates, and hierarchical contempt. "This is my third serious health incident in two years, recognized by Social Security as linked to work-related stress," he confides, despondent. Aline attacks Stimulus, the psychological support tool put in place by management. "They've even outsourced the suffering," she fumes bitterly.

As they were leaving, David the photographer took a snapshot of the group with the CGT and Huma's red flags of the day. Gaëtan Lecocq, the union leader, said it loud and clear, to applause: "Arcelor is the fight of our lives. It's going to be a very long struggle, lasting months, years. We're going to succeed, I'm completely convinced of it." The meeting was scheduled for September, at the Fête de l'Humanité.