Enfant terrible

FOR sheer theatrical effect, it is hard to beat Arnaud Montebourg. Tall and telegenic, the 50-year-old Socialist politician is as shameless bossing about global companies as he is charming old ladies at trestle-table picnics over bottles of burgundy in his wineland constituency. Since becoming France’s industry minister in May, however, Mr Montebourg has had a series of awkward encounters with economic reality, which have begun to raise questions about his future in government.

His most recent bruising experience came from his effort to stop ArcelorMittal, a steelmaking giant, closing two blast furnaces at Florange, in Lorraine. At a time when other companies are laying off many more workers, the 629 planned job losses were relatively small. But the political symbolism was large. Lorraine, on France’s eastern border, was once the centre of world steelmaking, and still projects muscular industriousness as a source of national pride. On the election trail, François Hollande, now president, went to the site, clambered atop a van, and vowed to protect jobs there.