One of nuclear engineering firm
Areva SA's (CEI.FR) objectives is to be in "conquest" mode on the
international stage, said French economics and finance minister Christine
Lagarde Tuesday.
She said that that the French nuclear industry "will be able to develop
(its) competencies on an international level," only with support from
state-controlled Areva and other French nuclear players such as Electricite de
France SA (EDF.FR) and private power company GDF Suez (GSZ.FR).
The statement was made at the French National Assembly in response to a
question regarding the government's strategy for Areva in advance of a
shareholder meeting Thursday to approve a recent EUR900 million capital
increase.
Areva must be "irreproachable" where safety and the development and
maintenance of French nuclear capacities are concerned, Lagarde also said.
Earlier this year, the French government asked EDF to study a potential
increase of its stake in Areva's capital, currently at 2.4%, following a report
recommending that EDF becomes the leader of the French nuclear industry when
bidding abroad. The report, written by former EDF Chairman Francois Roussely,
did not comment on GDF Suez's earlier offer to solely finance and build Areva's
first medium-sized third-generation power reactor, Atmea