A board of directors of Engie is to be held in the afternoon as part of the sale of its stake in Suez to Veolia.

The battle promises to be complicated because Suez does not want this takeover by Veolia despite the guarantees provided on employment.

The State does not want him "no waves".

Nicolas Barré takes stock of a current economic issue.

Veolia, the French water and waste treatment giant, will he succeed in taking control of its competitor Suez?

The end of the battle is approaching.

An Engie board is due to be held in the afternoon.

Engie is a large energy group that needs money to invest, especially in new energies.

Hence its desire to sell its stake in Suez to Veolia, which would allow it to pocket 3.4 billion.

It cannot be refused.

It is difficult to see, a priori, why the directors of Engie would say no.

Except that among them, there are representatives of the State.

And there is a law that is often verified, when the State intervenes in affairs, as Sempé would say, nothing is simple and everything is complicated.

What is complicated here is that the state does not want waves.

If Engie agrees to sell its Suez shares to Veolia, that means that Veolia will take control of Suez.

But for Suez, it is a hostile act.

The state, in this case Bruno Le Maire, has been using its influence for days to bring the two groups to an understanding.

We said, no waves.

Only here, there is nothing to do, Suez does not want this takeover by Veolia.

Although Veolia has made concessions and provided guarantees on employment.

But can the state block the operation?

No, he's not a majority on Engie's board.

Of course, no one wants to get angry with the state, especially in these professions where public power is omnipresent.

And finally what strikes most in this affair is the spectacle offered by French capitalism.

Rather than letting these groups, who know their markets well, manage their affairs among themselves, everyone gets involved.

The State of course, but also deputies who pride themselves on having a definitive opinion on what is good for Suez or for Véolia, elected officials who are discovering the talents of industrial strategists.

In short, it's the rat race.

It is time for this Suez-Veolia war to end because otherwise the two groups will end up losing.