Recent statements by Jean Tirole on RTL and then by Marc Fiorentino on BFM Business have reignited the debate on the role of industry in the French and European economy.
For A3M, the issue is not simply a matter of opposing innovation and reindustrialization. It is much more concrete: Do we still have the materials, skills and industrial capabilities necessary to transform our choices into realities?
Artificial intelligence requires data centers and power grids. The energy transition relies on copper, steel, lithium, and advanced materials. Defense requires specific metals and skilled metallurgical supply chains.
Future technologies have a hardware base.
Preserving these capabilities does not mean producing everything in France or striving for self-sufficiency. But not all dependencies are equal: they become critical when a disruption can paralyze an entire industrial chain without a replacement solution available in time.
These capabilities also rely on women, men, and expertise. You can't restart a mine, a furnace or a production line with a decree.
Finally, simply describing an activity as "strategic" is not enough to make it exist. Projects must also be able to secure funding and find sustainable economic conditions.
A3M therefore poses a simple question: Which mining, metallurgical and processing links do we need to be certain that we can preserve, rebuild or develop?

→ All our answers are in the opinion piece below. :