It should be transmitted to the Council of State tomorrow

After a long period of uncertainty, the Government relaunches this week the proposed merger between Suez and gas of France. Bercy is finalizing the draft law on the privatization of GDF, a text whose vote is essential prior to the merger. It should be transmitted to the Council of State tomorrow. It is a key step. It marks the end of the first phase of consultation with trade unions and political preparation of this very sensitive issue. The Government, which already held dozens of meetings with the social partners on the subject, now considers sufficiently cleared the land to move to the suite.

After its consideration by the Council of State, the text will be transmitted to the Parliament, which is expected to take "before the beginning of the fall", stated Friday Thierry Breton. "Now, we are going back in time, the time of the debate", explained the Minister of economy and finance. In the meantime, the Government will continue to work in education to create a consensus. A mission of consultation related specifically to the draft law is thus entrusted to the Minister delegate for industry, François Loos, associated with the MP UMP Jean-Claude Lenoir, who should be appointed rapporteur for the text to the Assembly.

An attempt to allay concerns raised by the future privatization of gas of France, including left, Thierry Breton stressed two points. First, the State will retain "more than a third of the capital of the future group", assured the Minister. No question, therefore, falling below the blocking minority, as it could be considered in recent weeks. Thierry Breton has however not specified if this 34 threshold would be, or not registered in the future act. Uncertainty arouses the greatest fears of the CGT, the main Union at SFM. "If this lock of the 34 does not appear in the Act, it will be more difficult to resist the pressure of the shareholders of Suez, which, during the General Assemblies of fusion, will want to obtain more favourable parities" critical Jean-Pierre Sotura, the head of the record to the CGT of mines and energy Federation.

Veto power

Second "guarantee" made by Thierry Breton: according to the Bill, the State will benefit from a specific action of the new set, a "golden share" giving it veto power over some decisions. Subject: "the protection of the strategic issues that are really tied to the network of gas distribution Terminal LNG tankers to strategic stocks", he detailed. Through this action, the public power would retain a kind of ultimate control of certain "perfect life and defined entities", in the words of the Minister. The gas pipeline network, for example.

Unions, however, remain skeptical. Because European legislation is hardly conducive to the "golden shares", these preferential actions that States had the habit of keeping in the newly privatized companies. Under pressure from the European Court of justice, the France has thus had to give up in 2002 that it held in Total (while TotalFinaElf).

According to Bercy, the proposed system is similar to another already validated by the Court of justice, and Thierry Breton said a "very close dialogue" with Brussels on the issue. But "history shows that such provisions does not constitute a guarantee of long term, it is estimated that the CGT." The reality is that when it lost the majority of the capital, it tends to lose power.

The CGT said is more mobilized as ever against the project. "In addition, we did still not obtained written response to the 71 questions in discussions with Bercy", notes Jean-Pierre Sotura. For the Government and the leaders of the two groups, the case appears therefore still be buckled.