Le Figaro News

French President Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff has been indicted by the national financial crimes prosecutor over a conflict of interest relating to his alleged links with Swiss-Italian shipping company MSC, the prosecutor's office said.Alexis Kohler, Macron's closest and most influential adviser, sits at the top of the Elysee Palace's administrative pyramid, and news of his indictment - a legal step that puts him under formal investigation in France - is a blow.The prosecutor's office "confirms Alexis Kohler…

Sea freight rates, which over the last weeks started to decrease after reaching a high, are likely to fall further, the head of French shipping giant CMA CGM said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.Asked by Le Figaro whether container rates will keep dipping, Chief Executive Rodolphe Saade replied, "This is very likely," saying that reduced consumer demand for goods amid high inflation was leading to a downward trend in international trade.(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Mark Porter)

France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier has started military operations against Islamic State in Iraq, a French army source said on Monday. "The carrier and its naval group has officially started missions as part of its Chammal operation in Iraq," the source told Reuters in a reference to the name of the mission. A second source said the carrier would be engaged for several weeks. Le Figaro newspaper, which is accompanying Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian ahead of an official announcement he is set to make on the carrier on Monday, said the first reconnaissance and possible air strikes in Iraq took place in the morning. France was the first country to join the U.S.-led coalition in air strikes in Iraq against Islamic State insurgents…

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is considering taking a direct stake in French engineering group Alstom as part of an offer with Germany's Siemens, two French newspapers said on Thursday. Financial daily Les Echos said Mitsubishi is considering buying part of French Bouygues's 29 percent stake in Alstom and would also buy Alstom's steam turbines while Siemens would take over its gas turbines. At a later stage, after an expected offer for Alstom on June 16, Siemens would contribute its transport assets to Alstom…

Siemens and the French government intervened in General Electric's plan to buy the power arm of Alstom on Sunday with an alternative European "champions" tie-up proposal and a pledge to act inFrance's national interest. Though French trains-to-turbines maker Alstom is privately owned, firebrand Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg issued a stark reminder of the influence the government holds over a company that relies heavily on orders from state rail operator SNCF and partly state-owned utility EDF. "GE and Alstom have their calendar, which is that of shareholders, but the French government has its own, which is that of economic sovereignty," Montebourg said in a statement, providing the first official confirmation of GE's offer.

U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co is in advanced talks to buy the global power division of struggling French engineering group Alstom SA for about $13 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Sources said a deal was backed by Alstom's main shareholder, French conglomerate Bouygues with 29 percent, and could be announced in the coming days after an Alstom board meeting on Friday afternoon. The board was due to meet again on Sunday to discuss the transaction, French daily Le Figaro said. "Talks are going ahead swiftly, the deal's structure is defined and everything is almost ready," one of the sources said. Alstom Chief Executive Patrick Kron confirmed to union representatives there were talks about an "industrial deal," but did not name GE.