Guest of LCP this Monday, February 9, Sébastien Martin welcomed the announcements of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who defended the establishment of a “European preference” to support EU industries. “It’s a victory for France,” said the Minister Delegate for Industry.
“It wasn’t a foregone conclusion.“Guest of “Monday, it’s political”, this February 9, Sébastien Martin welcomed the announcement of the European Commission to defend the establishment of a “European preference” intended to defend European interests. “It’s a fight for France“, argued the Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, regarding this measure which would oblige companies benefiting from public funds to purchase components manufactured in Europe.
“Europe must be able to defend its strategic interests“, pleaded the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a letter released this Monday, ahead of a summit of EU leaders on competitiveness, which is due to take place this Thursday. Long defended by France, the “European preference” does not, however, achieve consensus within the EU, with certain States fearing to increase their production costs and penalize their exports.
“In certain meetings that I spend with my European counterparts, we have to convince people of the merits of European preference or Made in Europe.“, was surprised Sébastien Martin, in favor of such a mechanism, particularly in view of Chinese competition and American customs duties. “At some point, you have to know what you want. […] If we want to have an industry in Europe, we must apply the same rules as those applied by the Americans and the Chinese.“
A disagreement with Clément Beaune
The Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, on the other hand, marked his disagreement with the proposal of the High Commissioner for Planning, Clément Beaune, who pleaded this Monday to tax Chinese products at 30%. “We must not lock down Europe“, argued Sébastien Martin.
Drawing a parallel with the customs duties put in place by Donald Trump, the minister judged that the effects of the measure were not visible on American industry. “On the other hand, we immediately see the impact on the purchasing power of Americans.“
Sébastien Martin does not “understand” his suspension from LR
Suspended from the Les Républicains party after his appointment to Sébastien Lecornu’s government, Sébastien Martin expressed his incomprehension a posteriori. “At a time when France needs to be brought together, this type of behavior is completely out of step“, he was surprised. Before castigating that his political family “took so little time to suspend ministers of the Republic, and that she said absolutely nothing when an LR European deputy, [Christophe Gomart]will support Mr Ciotti, who is obliged to Mrs Le Pen“. “I am stunned.“
date: 2026-02-09 20:15:00
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