PARIS (AP) – France’s finance minister is defending a deal to merge French high-speed train maker Alstom with Germany’s Siemens as crucial to keeping European industry globally competitive.
Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters Wednesday that the deal is especially important given growing competition from Chinese train makers to meet worldwide demand for the kind of high-speed trains once exemplified by Alstom’s TGVs.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government is under fire over the Alstom deal because the French state owns 20 percent of Alstom and has repeatedly intervened to save its jobs.
Critics accuse the government of letting Germany buy out a French industrial champion.
FILE – This Wednesday, April 30, 2014, file photo shows the company logo of Alstom at their headquarters in Levallois-Perret, outside Paris, France. German industrial equipment maker Siemens AG said Tuesday Sept. 26, 2107, it has signed a memorandum of understanding to merge its train-building business with French rival Alstom, creating a “new European champion” in the face of growing competition from China.(AP Photo/Christophe Ena, FILE)
FILE – This June 24, 2016 file photo shows the logo of German industrial conglomerate Siemens at their headquarters in Munich, Germany. German industrial equipment maker Siemens AG said Tuesday Sept. 26, 2017, it has signed a memorandum of understanding to merge its train-building business with French rival Alstom, creating a “new European champion” in the face of growing competition from China. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, FILE)
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire gives a press conference in Paris, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. Le Maire is defending a deal to merge French high-speed train maker Alstom with Germany’s Seimens as crucial to keeping European industry globally competitive. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)
