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France sells minority stake in Toulouse airport to Chinese-led consortium

Economy minister insists controversial sale of share in biggest airport in south-west France is not 'privatisation' but 'opening up of capital'.

La rédaction de Mediapart

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The French government is selling a 49.99 percent stake in the Toulouse Blagnac airport in southwestern France to a Chinese-led consortium, the economy ministry said on Thursday, reports Reuters.

The sale is likely to be the first in a series after economy minister Emmanuel Macron said in October that the government aimed to sell state assets worth up to 10 billion euros ($12.4 billion) over the next 18 months.

A consortium made up of Chinese companies Shandong Hi-Speed Group and Friedmann Pacific Asset Management made the winning bid for the stake, the ministry said.

"It's not a privatisation, but rather the capital is being opened up with the local authorities and the state remaining majority holders," Macron was quoted as saying in regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi.

Read more of this report from Reuters.

Read Mediapart's coverage of this story (in French) here.