The initial public offering of Electricite de France has been delayed by the French government amidst fears that it would antagonize workers further ahead of a planned national strike.
The French authorities had intended to follow up the recent share issuing program for Gaz de France with an IPO for the state electricity provider on September 26. However, with a national union strike due on October 4, the authorities have decided to hold issuing shares in EDF until after the industrial action.
According to La Tribune the government has asked financial analysts not to send out research papers for the IPO, which would have started the ball rolling on the partial privatization of the electricity provider.
It is the privatization that has angered unions. According to Financial News Online, France’s three main unions, CGT, Force Ouvriere and CFDT are fiercely opposed to the partial privatization of the electricity group and have called for strike action to show their opposition to the government’s policy. Ultimately the unions want the French authorities to reverse their partial privatization plans.
The French government is believed to be targeting a capital injection of between E8 billion and E10 billion from the share sale, which it says will take place some time during the fall.