2023-11-09 05:00:00
On Atos, Bruno Le Maire was clear. Very clear. There is no question of nationalizing the digital group, nor of taking a stake, as many parliamentarians from the right and left as well as the National Rally are demanding. “I remind you that Atos is a company which of course has very sensitive activities, others which are less so. There, my responsibility is not to invest in the company, it is to protect the most sensitive technologies. They will be protected”insisted the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, on Wednesday during the Assises de l’Industrie 2023. And there too, Bruno Le Maire was also very clear in explaining the term “protected”: these technologies “will remain French”. This is particularly the case for the activity of supercomputers essential to French nuclear deterrence. Atos, which is the only European manufacturer of supercomputers, is the fourth world group in this field.
“The right solution is not to have the State in the capital. And I don’t think that the solution is that, as soon as there is a difficulty in a private company, the State takes over the capital and runs the company in place of the entrepreneurs, who have 1,000 times more talent and 1,000 times more knowledge to do it. The presence of the State at the level of company capital is justified when the activity is absolutely strategic and when the entire economy is concerned, for example EDF. In this case, I have no hesitation, our President of the Republic nationalized EDF because behind it, there is a major general interest,” explained Bruno Le Maire.
The minister also recalled that he had taken decisions in recent weeks to protect strategic French companies which were of interest “investors, including from friendly countries, such as the United States”particularly in the nuclear sector, like Segault. “And I have no hesitation in doing so.” Believe me, it’s not simple, because the pressures that you don’t see are extremely strong to prevent you from making decisions and applying control over foreign investments in Francehe stressed. I’ve never had a hand that shakes.”.
Passing of arms in the Senate
This declaration did not reassure parliamentarians worried regarding the future of Atos, which is in great pain. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Cédric Perrin, who opposes the arrival of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretínský in the capital of Atos, took the stand on Wednesday followingnoon during questions to the government to ask the State to get involved in this matter. The Minister Delegate in charge of digital Jean-Noël Barrot responded by confirming that the government was not “not in favor of the nationalization of Atos”. And to argue that a “such a decision would not resolve the operational and financial problems of the company. It is not the supervision of the State that Atos needs, but rather industrial partners and investors”.
The PS deputy and special rapporteur for the Finance Committee Philippe Brun proposed on October 25 an amendment aimed at the temporary nationalization of certain strategic assets of Atos – Atos Big Data and Cyber Securities (BDS) and Atos Worldgrid -, « the restructuring of which must not result in a loss of sovereignty. It is inconceivable that our supercomputers, which define the trajectory of our missiles, would go under foreign flag. To protect us from this, I will suggest devoting 390 million euros to this operation,” he explained.
The delegate minister also recalled that a 10% stake, like that of Daniel Kretínský in the capital of Atos (7.5%), “will have a very marginal influence on the life of the company”. And to conclude that “the government is attentive to the future of Atos and the guarantee of France’s digital sovereignty”. The General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) and the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE) are on deck to ensure the future, autonomy and sovereignty of this company. An insufficient response for Cédric Perrin, who replied that the Senate was forced “to exercise its constitutional duty of control in the Atos affair”.
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