The location has the value of a symbol. For the first time, the French Naval Group (ex-DCN) will be a neighbour of the Italian Fincantieri at the salon Euronaval, which is held every two years, at the parc des expositions of le Bourget, near Paris. A reminder of their willingness to ally in the military field to professionals who, from Tuesday 23 to Friday 26 October, will take to the aisles of the largest international trade fair for naval defense. And this in spite of the contrary winds which blow from either side of the Alps.
For more than twenty years, the Europeans speak of creating an “Airbus of the seas” to face the competition. In vain. Split between a score of actors, the most important being the French Naval Group, today 6th world, these construction sites must deal with four key groups of americans, and especially to the rise of the Chinese and Russians.
However, until now, all the projects of reconciliation have failed, for many reasons, economic, strategic, and diplomatic, and the groups continue to compete on large tenders. Thus, over the decades, the strategic partner of France might have been Spanish with Navantia, and then German with TKMS, and today, the Italian Fincantieri. Once again, there are many obstacles in the face of an alliance that was initially capital-intensive, with a cross-ownership, and industrial, with the creation of a common society.
The folder code-named “Poseidon” patina
Since the announcement of the merger, to the summer of 2017, the folder code-named “Poseidon” patina. Now, the patrons of the Naval Group, and Fincantieri, Hervé Guillou, and Giuseppe Bono, seem to be the only ones to defend their project.
And for good reason, the question of cross-ownership between the two groups of 5% to 10 % is abandoned. From the outset, Thales, a shareholder of a Naval Group to the tune of 35 % to…