The French government's about-face on the Saint Nazaire shipyards is not the first, and perhaps it will not be the last in the complicated history of the economic and political relations between the two European "cousins", France and Italy.
Even before Giuseppe Bono, the CEO of the Fincantieri group who had agreed with François Hollande a 66,6% Italian stake in the strategic Stx, even Gianni Agnelli ran into the veto of Paris at the end of the 60s when Fiat had tried to agree with Citroen. The episode has re-emerged in recent days from the historical memory of Giulio Sapelli: “Gianni Agnelli had almost closed the negotiations, but then General Charles de Gaulle intervened to block everything and propose a joint group. The exact opposite was almost there, for the French to buy themselves Fiats”.
Something similar also happened to Vittorio Mincato, CEO of Eni from 1998 to 2005, which after having negotiated a takeover in the hydrocarbon sector in minute detail and when the press releases were ready, had to give up. Ultimately, the Paris government disavowed the agreement, turned around, and nothing more came of it.
What about Enel's bad adventure with Suez? Fulvio Conti, then CEO of the Italian electricity group in search of expansion abroad (as he later completed with the acquisition of the Spanish Endesa) had launched the offensive on none other than Suez, the French jewel of energy and waste and water, present in about seventy countries around the world and above all owner of the controlling share of Electrabel, the Belgian electricity company. An ideal prey for a marriage with Enel ready to launch a 50 billion takeover bid to strengthen itself abroad and balance the slimming cure suffered in Italy with the market liberalization that had taken away 15.000 MW and control over the national transmission grid to Terna.
The response of the French government was the merger of Suez with Gdf, the national champion of gas (80% controlled by the State), decided in record time and able to stop any ambitions of Enel which would never and then never been able to digest such a huge morsel. In government in Italy were Giulio Tremonti (Economics) and Claudio Scajola (Development). Premier was Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned when the events occurred between February and March 2006.
In Paris, Economy Minister Tierry Breton did not flinch at Italian grievances and completed the operation with the assent of Europe where Josè Emanuel Barroso was president. "The spirit of the EU has been violated, not the law" observed Eurocommissioner for the internal market Charlie McCreevy putting a tombstone on any Italian claim. It is an observation on which we can still reflect today: when you cross the border you need to carefully evaluate the balance of power and prepare for the tough game. The Suez experience was useful to Enel which was then able to move with greater shrewdness and effectiveness in Spain by conquering Endesa. Which makes it today a multinational giant that operates in 31 countries from Italy to Brazil, from the United States to South Africa.
