In January, the two up-and-coming left-wing figures put their ideological differences on display in a genteel exchange of letters. In his missive, La France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) MP François Ruffin had compared Raphaël Glucksmann to "an elite that goes forth with arrogance," "unaware," as he put it, of the European Union's ravages on the industrial sector; as shown by companies, from Whirlpool to Delsey or Goodyear, offshoring away from France. Glucksmann, the MEP who heads the Parti Socialiste's list for the June 9 European elections, replied a few days later, point out Ruffin's "approximations" and "caricatures." Two months later, 24 hours apart and 200 kilometers from each other, the pair engaged in a new episode of their long-distance duel, albeit in the field this time.
8:13 am on Tuesday, March 26: Glucksmann boarded the Thalys train to Belgium. His friend, the president of Belgium's French-speaking Socialist party Paul Magnette, had invited him to the central city of Charleroi to visit a local factory, which had recently been renamed Wallglass. Belgium's Wallonia region, much like northern France, has been devastated by deindustrialization, and has a high unemployment rate. Magnette wanted to show that this was not inevitable. "Here is a good example," said the Belgian socialist. The company had been bought out in October 2023 by Pepe Strazzante, a former industrial worker and union activist who specializes in taking over bankrupt companies. In just a few months, Wallglass managed to reorganize itself and focus its clientele toward the top end of the automotive market. It has even hired employees again. The company has now begun considering diversifying its business into solar panel assembly.
Pen in hand, Glucksmann took notes. "You highlight the advantages, but what about the costs?" the MEP asked, aware that this market is 95% dominated by Chinese manufacturers. The company has been counting on the European Net-Zero Industry Act, which is intended to promote clean energy, complementing the EU's Green Deal. Wallglass saw the road ahead as one still strewn with pitfalls, but Glucksmann promised them that the European Social Democrats would be there for them. "We don't exactly know what will come of it. It will depend on the elections," he said.
They then visited the production lines: Wallglass's machine tools, used in windshield design, are invented and manufactured on-site by in-house workers, as a way of preserving a special feature of the company against the competition. This know-how was much admired by the European election candidate, who has dreamed of bringing the entire value chain back to Europe. This would include the production of polysilicon, the key raw material in creating photovoltaic panels, which is currently imported from China.
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