Don't want Lakshmi Mittal in France: Min
stabilise activity" at the plant.
The fate of the site has become a litmus test of Socialist President Francois Hollande's strategy for fighting rising unemployment and raising the flagging competitiveness of French industry.
The plant is based in the Lorraine region of eastern France, the traditional centre of France's steel industry.
ArcelorMittal has said the furnaces, which were damped down for 14 months prior to their closure, were uncompetitive in a tough trading climate, partly because they are too far from ports for transportation.
Les Echos has reported that Russian group Severstal is among several potential buyers for the furnaces.
ArcelorMittal last month reported it had plunged into a third quarter net loss of USD 709 million due to a slump in Chinese demand and operating losses in Europe.
The group owns 11 blast furnaces in northern France, Germany and Belgium and, as well as the two at Florange, has shut down two furnaces in the Belgian city of Liege and one in the French port town of Dunkirk.
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