France plans \\\'patriotic\\\' action to outwit GE bid for Alstom

France geared up Friday for action to protect engineering jewel Alstom from a possible bid by US giant General Electric, amid a policy switch to get flagging French businesses back on track. “Alstom is the symbol of our industrial power and French ingenuity,” Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said, referring to its main activities of building power stations and the French TGV high-speed train. Montebourg, a fierce protector of French industry, was responding to speculation that GE will bid about $13 billion (9.4 billion euros) for the whole group, or may be interested only in the power-generation division accounting for 70% of the business. “On this matter of Alstom, the government is showing patriotic concern and vigilance,” he told the Le Monde newspaper. The French stock market regulator suspended trading in Alstom shares on the Paris stock market Friday after they had shot up by almost 11% to 27.0 euros on bid speculation. Then rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded its long-term rating for Alstom by one notch to BBB- with a stable outlook, saying the move reflected weak conditions in the company’s markets over the next two to three years. For the Socialist government, the future of Alstom is a hot issue amid angst about the decline of French industry. Alstom, a politically sensitive symbol of engineering prowess in France and an important exporter, is facing financial pressures and its shares have fallen heavily in the last year, according to AFP.