PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande wants train maker Alstom (PA:ALSO) to continue its train business at its Belfort plant and is in talks with parties who could place orders, Finance Minister Michel Sapin told reporters on Monday.
"The president of the republic has given us a target: to make sure that Alstom's railway activities are maintained," Sapin said after a meeting with ministers.
An Alstom spokesman declined to respond to Sapin's comments. He said the company had presented a plan that responded to difficult business conditions.
Alstom said on last week it planned to stop making trains at Belfort and transfer production to its plant in Reichshoffen in eastern France by the end of 2018. The Belfort site will be refocused on maintenance and repairs.
Alstom expects the workload at its French sites to fall by 30 percent by 2018 due to weak orders, with Belfort the most affected because it is specialised in making freight locomotives.
Some 400 workers out of Belfort's total 480 would be offered jobs at Alstom's other French sites.
