Guy Janin has been named the new director-general of the Port of Marseilles Authority. Janin, 58, has been head of the inland waterways authority Voies Navigables de France (VNF) since 2004. His nomination by the French minister of transport and maritime affairs was approved at a port board meeting on November 24 and is due to be formally ratified at a government cabinet meeting. Predecessor Eric Brassart, 56, stepped down in October following a sympathy strike by the port’s CGT union members opposing plans to privatize State ferry operator SNCM. The government marked his departure with praise for the port’s growth during his eight-year tenure and stressed that he is to be assigned to new tasks.