PARIS (Dow Jones)-[off the wire, no link]-Newly appointed French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's attitudes toward both business and arch rival Nicolas Sarkozy may rapidly surface depending on how he handles the proposed privatization of Gaz de France (4774.FR).
Labor unions want the government to ditch the plan and keep GdF, as well as sister company Electricite de France (EDF.YY), state-owned. Meanwhile the ruling UMP party said it wants de Villepin - who just this week reiterated his "deep attachment" to the country's welfare state - to swiftly push both companies in the private sector. |
I personally don't want to live in a country where the government owns everything, but if you're French and all you want to do is sit in cafes, create art, and smoke, having the "Nanny" state take care of you is very appealing.
Plus a note on de Villepin; he's the PM, which, I'm told, is a fairly important role and he's never been elected to office. Ever. He was appointed poet laureate of France, a crucial post in the government I'm sure, but what else has he done? As far as I know he's never even led a book club, let alone a nation. Look for all bills henceforth to be penned in iambic pentameter by a man in tights.
[...]A month ago, the French government opted to postpone the controversial privatization of Gaz de France for fear it could lead more people to vote "no" in last Sunday's referendum on a new European Union constitution.
[...]Trade unions are opposed to the company's listing on the market, saying it may lead to lower-quality services and job losses.
But de Villepin will come under pressure to push through the privatization of the energy companies, a move initiated by his predecessor, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, three years ago, his own party said.
"We can't move backward," said Francois-Michel Gonnot, a lawmaker affiliated with the UMP ruling party. Gonnot said listing GdF and EdF on the stock market is a logical step after the government transformed the two former state natural gas and electricity monopolies into ordinary corporations and opened up the energy market to competition.
Opinion polls suggest part of the country voted "no" in the referendum on the grounds that the proposed constitution might have resulted in a dismantling of French public services, leading to a broad selloff of state companies. |
That's a big "Oops" on the hope to avoid a "no" vote on the EU constitution, and go figure that the trade unions don't want free market competition. That make actually make things fair. |
