PARIS -- The French government is prepared to invest alongside Bridgestone to save a French plant that the Japanese tiremaker is considering closing, a minister said on Monday.
The French government is looking at options to save jobs and keep open the factory, which employs 863 people in Bethune, Northern France.
"If we could find a balance with Bridgestone, we would put up money," Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told television channel LCP.
"What we're telling Bridgestone is look at all of the scenarios and don't shut out scenarios out of principle and we are ready to invest alongside them to give a future to the plant," she said.
The government would meet soon with Bridgestone representatives, she said, without specifying what form a potential investment could take.
