An Arcelor executive said yesterday: "We will be recommending to shareholders not to accept the offer. There is a fundamental difference in culture and vision. We have a strongly European culture which the staff of Arcelor is very keen to conserve and the board considers a strength."

"We believe in sustainable development, health and safety, staff representation on the board, citizenship and good corporate governance and we saw on Friday a strong show of support from...

The French government? Mais non:

...the Luxembourg government.

The French government is taking a different line:

However, there are indications that Arcelor's strategy could backfire. One French government source said it would be unlikely to block a takeover by Mittal. "I know it makes a good story for British papers, but the French government is not being protectionist."

Actually, as that gleeful quote illustrates, that makes a pretty good story for the British papers too. French government favours globalisation. That's a story.

Could it be that the French government would actually like to do something about the poor state of the French labour market and, not knowing what else to do to achieve this, is quite glad to let Lakshmi Mittal do this for them?