Manuel Valls News

French container shipper CMA CGM received Manuel Valls, Prime Minister of France, the CMA CGM Tower, Group headquarters in Marseille, Friday September 9. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Emmanuelle Cosse, Minister for Housing and Sustainable Habitat, the Regional Prefect and elected officials. Manuel Valls was greeted by Jacques Saade, Founder and CEO of CMA CGM Group, and members of senior management. The two men exchanged views on the maritime industry, global trade, and the major role of the French CMA CGM in Marseille and economy. The Group transported in 2015 over 6.5 million tonnes of French goods to the world and employs over 4,500 people in France, 2400 in Marseille, where it is the largest private employer in the city.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday he was committed to building all of a new Australian submarine fleet in Australia, apparently contradicting the French contractor who said last week the deal would create jobs in France. Valls stopped off in Australia while headed to New Zealand for a scheduled visit, just days after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said France had beaten out Japan and Germany for the A$50 billion ($38 billion) contract. Valls said he would personally oversee the drafting of the contract, one of the world's biggest defence deals, between France's state-owned naval contractor DCNS Group and Australia over the next few months. "We would like to conclude as soon as possible this contract," Valls told reporters through an interpreter after meeting Turnbull.

Fleet of 12 submarines to be built in South Australia; decision has political implications at home, abroad. France has beaten Japan and Germany to win a A$50 billion ($40 billion) deal to build a fleet of 12 submarines for Australia, one of the world's most lucrative defence contracts, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Tuesday. The victory for state-owned naval contractor DCNS Group underscored France's strengths in developing a compelling military-industrial bid, and is a blow for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to develop defence export capabilities as part of a more muscular security agenda. Reuters earlier reported that DCNS would be announced as the winner, citing sources with knowledge of the process.

JACCAR Holdings informed that  Mr. Li Keqiang – Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China - during his recent state visit to France signed Memorandam of Understanding  with Mr. Manuel Valls, Prime Minister of France , for a 900 M$ financing of gas carriers with ICBC leasing. Jacques de Chateauvieux, as Chairman and CEO of Cana Tera and JACCAR Holdings declared “we are extremely honored to benefit from the trust of ICBC Leasing for the second time following the BOURBON sale and bare boat charter for 10 years of 46 offshore vessels completed last year. This will strengthen our ability to engineer and contract innovative vessels in China whilst benefitting from local financing as well”.

Engineering and consulting firms setec and Royal HaskoningDHV have been selected by VNF – the French navigable waterways authority – to jointly provide program management assistance over 12 years for a canal link extending from France to Belgium. The new Canal Seine-Nord Europe will connect the basin of the Seine near Paris, to the Scheldt, near Lille, giving access to Belgian and Dutch inland waterways networks. Long awaited by the international water transport sector and the European Union, the new canal will be designed for vessels up to 4,400 tonnes capacity.

Engineering and consulting firms setec and Royal HaskoningDHV have been selected by VNF – the French navigable waterways authority – to jointly provide programme management assistance over 12 years for a canal link extending from France to Belgium. The vast new Canal Seine-Nord Europe will connect the basin of the Seine near Paris, to the Scheldt, near Lille, giving access to Belgian and Dutch inland waterways networks. Long awaited by the international water transport sector and the European Union, the new canal will be designed for vessels up to 4,400 tonnes capacity. It will eliminate a major bottleneck on the European waterway network and provide links with six seaports to offer an alternative method of transporting freight with access into the heart of large urban areas.

Quebec and France have announced plans to create a new bi-national oceanic research network in Rimouski. The proposed creation of this binational institute was formally agreed between the Premier of Quebec, Philippe Couillard, and French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, in Paris. Such an institute aims to bring co-operation and complementarity of France and Quebec in higher education, research and innovation to a new level. It aims to give France and Quebec a competitive positioning joint mechanism in major international initiatives and fuel the development vision of the maritime industry on both sides of the Atlantic. Ultimately, this institute will position together France and Quebec as a leader worldwide for questions regarding the challenges of sustainable maritime development.

Private jet collided with snow plow during takeoff; Total's CEO a defender of Moscow policies. Insiders Boisseau and Pouyanne long seen as potential successors. The chief executive of French oil major Total, Christophe de Margerie, was killed when his private jet collided with a snow plough as it was taking off from Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Monday night. De Margerie's death leaves a void at the top of one of the world's biggest listed oil firms at a difficult time for the industry as oil prices fall and state-backed competitors keep them out of some of the best oil exploration territory. The collision occurred minutes before midnight Moscow time as de Margerie's Dassault Falcon jet was taking off for Paris.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Wednesday he would take steps "within hours" to end blockades of ports in Marseille and Corsica by workers of the SNCM ferry operator, who are striking over the firm's restructuring plans. Workers at the loss-making company partially owned by Veolia have been on strike since June 24, occupying ferries and blockading access to part of Marseille's port for 16 days over fears they will lose jobs and job privileges. The strike has left the island in part cut off from the mainland at the peak of the tourist season vital to Corsica's economy while holding up the flow of goods. Valls, who has warned repeatedly that the strike could condemn the SNCM "to death"…

Workers at France-Corsica ferry operator SNCM must end their strike and let the troubled company undergo a restructuring to secure its future, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday. Loss-making SNCM, whose unions have been on strike since June 24, risks bankruptcy and needs to be placed under court protection, Valls told TV station TF1 in an interview. "This situation cannot go on and there needs to be a court-ordered restructuring, because this company is sinking, and in fact the days of strike that accumulate are only putting it more into trouble," Valls said. The comments were even harsher than those of France's transport minister…

Alstom's arch rival Siemens wants talks with the struggling French engineering group, the German company said on Sunday, the day General Electric boss Jeff Immelt is due in Paris to thrash out a deal to buy Alstom's global power arm. Siemens said in a statement that it had written a letter to "signal its willingness to discuss future strategic opportunities" with the French group. France's government has said it wants to find alternatives to the GE offer, which sources say puts a value of $13 billion on the turbines and power grid equipment business and could be announced in days. Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said last week that he plans a meeting with Immelt.

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.