Word: matra
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...skepticism about the virtues of free-market forces. Last week opinion polls showed that a majority of the French people favored a slowdown in the sell-off. Depressed market conditions forced the Premier to postpone the sale of the government's majority share of the defense and electronics group Matra, a $23.5 million enterprise. Meanwhile, the West German government appeared poised to put off the sale of its remaining 16% stake in auto giant Volkswagen (1986 revenues: $29.3 billion), despite earlier pledges of a sale this year...
...CRASH, headlines the newspaper Le Quotidien, as local share prices stay flat for the day. The government postpones plans to sell shares in Matra, a giant state-owned defense and electronics firm...
According to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, France ranked second only to the Soviet Union in arms orders from the Third World in 1984. Marcel de Picciotto, vice president of Matra, a French arms company, says that "any country that doesn't want to have its strings pulled by Washington and Moscow can come here without fear of meddling." But French government officials bristle at charges that the trade is opportunistic, or that they put weapons in the hands of radical governments. Says Francois Heisbourg, a former adviser to the Defense Ministry: "This country could probably be making several billion...
...land the contract to upgrade the Saudi navy, beating out competitive bids by the British and Italians. France argues that it provides Third World customers with an alternative to superpower suppliers. "Nations can buy from us and still maintain their independence," says an official of the missile maker Matra, which exports 75% of its production...
While Americans have picked up the European habit of dabbling in gold, the French have been buying such hot securities as Engins Matra, whose products range from sports cars to armaments, up a sizzling 605% since 1977; pop radio station Europe No. 1, up 72%; chemical giant Rhóne-Poulenc, up 149%; and food producer BSN-Gervais Danone...