France's position on the Fincantieri-Stx operation (i.e. the entry of the Italian group into the company that manages the historic shipyards of Saint-Nazaire) is always the same and was reaffirmed by the Secretary of State Christophe Sirugue to the managing director of Fincantieri Giuseppe Bono during a meeting in Bercy: Italians welcome, but not with a majority stake.
“We continue to work with Fincantieri – said Sirugue -. We had a long meeting the other night and will probably meet again in 8 days to continue negotiating”. According to the rumors collected by Reuters, France has softened its position, until a few days ago perched on the absolute no to the hypothesis of a majority of Stx France in the hands of Fincantieri, even if for some time there was talk of a favorable orientation, provided that other European players also participate in the operation (we are talking about MSC and the Americans of Royal Caribbean, in addition to the French group DCNS).
So there is some improvement, even if the positions remain different and time is starting to press: in two months the first round of the French presidential elections will be voted, and the bogeyman of a Marine Le Pen victory could induce the parties to accelerate and close the negotiation in time, in order to anticipate possible winds of protectionism.
