PARIS--The French government weighed in on Nokia Corp.'s
proposal to buy French rival Alcatel-Lucent SA on Tuesday, warning
it will be watchful of the consequences for jobs and the telecoms
sector in France.
"The government will be very vigilant regarding the possible
consequences on employment and activity at the French sites of
Alcatel-Lucent, notably in research and development, as well as the
effects on the entire telecoms sector in France," the economy
ministry said.
The French government has repeatedly intervened in international
corporate deals in the past and last year bolstered its powers to
do so. As General Electric Co. circled to buy most of France's
engineering icon Alstom SA, the former economy ministry pushed
through a decree to extend the government's powers to block deals.
A 2005 law giving Paris powers over mergers in defense was extended
to cover energy, transport, utilities, health and telecoms.
The economy ministry said Alcatel-Lucent holds a "structural
position" in telecoms equipment and networks and described it as
part of the country's telecom's "heritage."
"The government wants the details of the deal to be presented as
quickly as possible," the economy ministry said.
While Paris has shown hostility to foreign takeovers in the
past, the French government is also eager to see the emergence of
European champions to rival Asia and the U.S. In that respect, the
economy ministry said it wants more information to be able to judge
whether the Nokia-Alcatel-Lucent deal would create a so-called
Airbus of the telecommunications sector.
Write to William Horobin at William.Horobin@wsj.com
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