PARIS: France should invest in a Bridgestone tyre plant threatened with closure, the head of its regional government who plans to run against President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 said on Sunday, ahead of a ministerial visit to the site.
The call by Xavier Bertrand, a former minister who now leads the Hauts-de-France region, adds pressure on the government to prevent an outright closure of the facility, as the coronavirus pandemic batters confidence.
The Japanese tyre maker’s announcement on Wednesday that it planned to close the Bethune plant, which employs 863 workers in Bertrand’s northern region, drew swift government condemnation.
Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne is expected to visit the factory on Monday.
Bertrand, a conservative who served as health minister between 2005 and 2007 in the government of Nicolas…