A judge on Tuesday blocked Gaz de France from completing details of its planned merger with the French utility Suez, casting further doubt over the outcome of a deal already fraught with political tension.
Judge Bernard Valette in Paris upheld a complaint by a Gas de France workers’ council, agreeing that the workers—who are concerned that jobs will be lost as Gaz de France is privatized as part of the deal—needed more time to examine the terms.
Workers have sought postponements to the deal ahead of French presidential elections in 2007.
The opposition Socialist Party has strongly condemned the merger, vowing to renationalize Gaz de France if it wins the presidency next spring, and raising the prospect of delaying tactics could result in the deal being canceled entirely.
Gaz de France immediately appealed, saying that any holdup would scuttle a deal that would create a company with annual revenue of about EUR70 billion.
(International Herald Tribune, 22/11/2006