As the main but minority shareholder of the Air France-KLM airline, with 16% of capital and voting rights, the French State is also Director and as such an insider.
But in announcing on September 24 on the radio at 7:40 am, “the Transavia Europe project is abandoned by management,” adding that “the project is not suspended for three months, it is removed,” the French State secretary for transports Alain Vidalies committed an offense of false information: his statement was quickly contradicted a spokesman for the company quoted by the AFP Agency: ” We see no change in the negotiations, there is no evidence that this project is removed. “
Under Article L 465-2 two years imprisonment and a fine of EUR 1 500 000 will punish “the fact for any person, to spread or attempt to foster publicly any false or misleading information about the prospects or condition of an publicly listed company. “ While it is excluded that the State prosecutor ever prosecutes and as the Management of the Company ultimately had to bow to the Vals Government change, the other shareholders of Air France-KLM, victims of this criminal attempt to influence the fate of the group, could legitimately claim for the damages that will be suffered as a result of this move.
The recent bill adopted to modernize the management of State participations, in which the role of the Directors appointed or nominated by the State shareholder will be distinguished from its other functions, such as customer or regulator , is certainly welcome: and the representatives of the State at the Boards of companies may be now selected in “a broader pool, in ordre to benefit from their experience.”
Thanks God for our professional politicians ministers clearly know nothing about industry and securities market constraints. As wrote in the Figaro Eric Verhaeghe, the former CEO of Apec: “It’s pretty amazing to see a minority shareholder speaking in the press about internal business affairs / .. The first issue of the. State is to stop transfering his decadent management style – which explains the uncontrollable drift of public spending –. to companies that are his or for very little “
September 26, 2014
