Businesses: France will expand the list of protected areas


© Reuters. BUSINESSES: FRANCE WILL EXPAND THE LIST OF PROTECTED AREAS

PARIS (Reuters) – The French State will extend to artificial intelligence, to space, to the data storage and semiconductor decree requiring foreign investors to get its approval to take a stake in a company, announced on Friday that Edouard Philippe.

The companies of these sectors will be affected as soon as public order, public security or national defence are considered threatened.

“We need to strengthen instruments for the protection of French interests, that is what China and the United States for a long time”, said the Prime minister during a trip in the Oise region.

The bill Pact (action Plan for growth and business transformation), which will include a series of protection measures, will be presented on April 18, the council of ministers.

These foreign equity holdings are generally permitted, he stated, in consideration of the commitments.

The monitoring of these commitments will be strengthened with the establishment of an external audit regular, he added, and the sanctions will be strengthened in the event of non-compliance.

The government will increase the flexibility of the legal framework for the creation of the “golden share” allowing the State to retain control powers in companies.

The State will also strengthen its intelligence capabilities and anticipation of risks. Edouard Philippe was thus hoped that the Council of defence and national security “can come together in a training devoted to economic issues in order to ensure a control of these sensitive questions”.

He also recalled that Bpifrance and the Agency of the interests of the State were working to a budget of financial intervention to protect French companies, in particular “nuggets”, acquisitions are hostile.

The general director of Bpifrance Nicolas Dufourcq, said last week that this envelope would be of 3 billion euros.

(Jean-Baptiste Vey, edited by Yves Clarisse)

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