France

Troubled France-Corsica ferry operator SNCM needs to go under court protection to shield itself from a European Commission order to repay 440 million euros ($600.2 million) in state aid, France's transport minister was quoted saying, Reuters reported. Frederic Cuvillier told French daily La Provence that the loss-making firm, whose unions have been on strike since June 24, cannot continue its activities in its current form without risking bankruptcy and needs an ordered restructuring.

France and Italy, still struggling to meet the euro zone’s tough budget targets, may be gaining support for an effort to relax the rules, the International New York Times reported. The effort, backed by Socialists in the newly elected European Parliament, could color discussions in Luxembourg on Thursday and Friday, when the bloc’s finance ministers gather for their monthly meetings. The European Union is finally emerging from a six-year economic crisis that threatened to destroy the euro currency.

Competition to acquire the French energy equipment maker Alstom was expected to intensify on Monday, as Siemens of Germany and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan were said to be preparing to make a joint offer that could pressure General Electric to improve its $13.5 billion bid, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. G.E.’s bid for Alstom’s power generation and transmission business, made in April, has been opposed by French government officials even though Alstom’s board approved the deal.

Lenders are preparing to take control of retailer Vivarte from Charterhouse Capital Partners, in a rare French debt-for-equity swap worth more than €2 billion, the Financial News reported. Oaktree Capital Management, Alcentra and Hayfin Capital Management are among the lenders preparing to convert €2 billion of the company’s €2.8 billion debt package to equity and quasi-equity instruments as part of the restructuring, according to a statement from the company. Under the plan, Charterhouse would be likely to lose more than €500 million on its investment in the French retailer.

A potential $10 billion fine against BNP Paribas SA, France’s biggest bank, for violating U.S. trade sanctions could have repercussions affecting the stability of Europe’s financial sector, French President Francois Hollande warned ahead of his meeting with President Barack Obama, Bloomberg News reported. U.S. authorities “must be fully aware of what is at stake from a sanction that would be not just unfair, but disproportionate, and with consequences well beyond a single French bank.

A potential $10 billion U.S. penalty against France’s largest bank BNP Paribas SA for its alleged dealings with Iran and other sanctioned nations is stirring outrage in the country. It is putting pressure on President Francois Hollande, who hosts Barack Obama this week to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day, to protect the bank from the American onslaught, Bloomberg News reported. Le Monde in its May 31 edition called the possible fine a “masterful slap.” Le Figaro newspaper said the U.S.

Weak consumer spending and business investment brought the French economy to a standstill in the first quarter of the year, with inventory changes and public spending the only factors keeping the euro zone’s second-largest economy from contracting, the Irish Times reported. First quarter data released today missed expectations of analysts polled by Reuters of 0.2 per cent growth. France will now need 0.5 per cent growth each quarter to meet a government forecast of 1 percent growth for 2014, Natixis Asset Management chief economist Philippe Waechter estimated.

A number of lenders to struggling French retailer Vivarte have submitted proposals to restructure the company's 2.8 billion euro ($3.85 billion) debt, banking sources said on Monday, Reuters reported. The plan would lead to an injection of fresh cash and wipe out a portion of existing debt in return for equity, the sources said. Vivarte entered into a four-month conciliation process with its lenders in March to negotiate a way forward after the borrower failed to get an agreement from a majority of its lenders to suspend loan covenant tests.

France is seeking to shorten restructuring disputes after more than 63,000 companies filed for insolvency last year, the most since 2009, according to data compiled by Altares SAS, a French information provider. Creditor advisers say the plans, which come into force on July 1, aren’t sufficient to allow lenders to take control of ailing businesses, Bloomberg News reported. “This reform doesn’t go far enough,” said Arnaud Joubert, a Paris-based restructuring adviser at Rothschild speaking before a conference today in the French capital on the new rules.

France and Germany are squabbling over who should foot the bill for Europe’s banking union, with Paris fearing its banks will pay the biggest share towards a €55bn rescue fund, the Financial Times reported. As the EU enters a potentially decisive week in talks on a central system for handling bank crises, France is fighting plans to make its sector of big universal banks the leading contributors to the common insurance plan.