Nicolas Sarkozy News

Boluda Corporación Marítima CEO Vicente Boluda Fos will receive the Knight of the Legion of Honour medal in Paris on June 16, in recognition of outstanding services rendered to France by the Valencian businessman. The distinction will be awarded by former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy.Boluda France was created in 2007 after the purchase of the French company Les Abeilles, a company whose activity dates back to 1864.“It is with great pride that I accept this award from the French Republic: I cannot begin to express my gratitude towards the country.

A French judge on Wednesday placed tycoon Vincent Bollore under formal investigation over allegations his company undercharged for work on behalf of presidential candidates in two African nations in return for port contracts.Bollore's company, Groupe Bollore, announced the decision by Judge Serge Tournaire, which came after Bollore had been questioned for two days by French fraud police.Bollore, whose logistics empire is a powerhouse in former French colonies across West Africa…

The total cost to France of reimbursing Russia for cancelling two warship contracts will be less than 1.2 billion euros, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday. Le Drian said on radio RTL the initial price for the two Mistral helicopter carrier warships had been 1.2 billion euros, but France will have to pay less than that because the ships were not been finished and the contract was suspended. "Talks between President Putin and President Francois Hollande have concluded yesterday. There is no further dispute on the matter," he said. He added that the discussions had been held in an amiable way and that there were no further penalties to pay over the contract, which was cancelled because of Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict.

French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that a ceasefire and a political settlement in Ukraine were conditions for France to deliver a warship it has built for Russia. Hollande told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO summit that the contract to supply two Mistral-class helicopter carriers was neither cancelled nor suspended, but the conditions for delivering the first ship - due in October - were not ripe. "What are the conditions? A ceasefire and a political settlement," he said. If there were further complications, delivery would be delayed but the contract would not be suspended, he added. France has come under strong public pressure from the United States and European partners to scrap the deal, signed under former President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2011.

Poland's foreign minister urged France on Tuesday to cancel a 1.2 billion euro ($1.66 billion) contract to sell Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, saying these would be used to threaten east European nations. The United States and some European partners have been urging Paris to reconsider its supply of high-tech military hardware to Moscow following Russian action in Ukraine, including its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in March. Asked if France should deliver the two vessels, Radoslaw Sikorski told Le Monde newspaper: "No, because Russian generals have already said what these ships will be used for: to threaten Russia's neighbors in the Black Sea and that means Europe's partners.

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.

Patrick Marchesseau Captain of Le Ponant, a cruise ship belonging to Compagnie du Ponant, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM French Group, has received from the President of the Republic of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. This honor is in recompense for his courage and professionalism during the hostage situation on the vessel under his command in April 2008, off the coast of Yemen. The ship was returning from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean, with a crew of 30 and no passengers, when it was attacked and boarded by Somali pirates. The French Government and the French Armed forces were fully mobilized and assisted CMA CGM for the safe release of the hostages. Captain Marchesseau showed great self control in the management of this crisis.