French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he wanted to review the terms of a recent deal to sell a large stake in the STX France shipyard to Italian group Fincantieri.
Speaking at the launch of a new cruise ship, Macron said the STX France’s shareholder structure should neither put jobs at risk nor jeopardise its capacity to win new business.
“I want to see the initial balance agreed in April to be revised,” Macron said, adding that he was nonetheless in favour of the tie-up with the Italian company.
The government in place before Macron’s election as President earlier last month struck a preliminary deal in April for Fincantieri to acquire a 48 percent stake in STX France.
The company is being sold off following the collapse of South Korean parent STX, but Fincantieri’s bid had raised fears for French jobs at the Saint-Nazaire site on the Atlantic Coast, as well as for French interests.
France, which is to retain its 33 percent stake in STX France under the deal, had at one point contemplated nationalising the firm and was reluctant to allow Fincantieri alone to hold more than 50 percent of the company.
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