Doing what comes naturellement

The manuevering to control Airbus continues:

The French government is seeking to take control of European aerospace giant EADS by pushing for a capital increase to finance development of the new A350 long-haul jet, German newspapers reported on Monday.

Paris surprised the industrial shareholders of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company — namely DaimlerChrysler which holds a stake of 22.5 percent and French group Lagardere which holds 7.5 percent — by proposing a capital hike to finance the A350, the business daily Handelsblatt reported.

The newspaper said that DaimlerChrysler and Lagardère both rejected the idea. But if the capital increase went ahead and they refused to participate, then France, which holds 15 percent of EADS via Sogeade, would effectively gain a dominant position in the company's share capital.

....Handelsblatt said that the aim of the French government was to prevent a far-reaching and painful restructuring of EADS's troubled aircraft maker Airbus.