France's energy minister muddied the waters over the future of engineering group Alstom on Wednesday, eventually toeing the government line on the need to examine a proposal from Siemens after first appearing to favour a tie-up with General Electric, reports Reuters.
In a magazine interview in which she also called her male colleagues "cocksure machos", former presidential candidate Segolene Royal said: "General Electric is a very good opportunity for Alstom. It's the best industrial project.
"Why not say it? ... And why do we always try to scare away foreign investment? We actually really need it."
Cash-strapped Alstom has welcomed GE's offer to buy its power turbines and grid business for 12.35 billion euros ($16.9 billion), but the French government has weighed into the talks in an attempt to get alternative offers.
Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg has openly criticized the Alstom-GE deal and instead advocated a European tie-up with Germany's Siemens. Alstom has given itself until the end of the month to review its options.
Royal changed tack later on Wednesday, saying she had no preference at this stage.
Siemens "has considerably improved its offer" to include a "European project" in the areas of trains and renewable energy, she said after a meeting between French ministers and Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser in Paris.
Read this more of this report from Reuters.