The Command Post - Iraq - French businessmen are really getting worried

March 21, 2003

French businessmen are really getting worried

French businessmen are really getting worried.

Claude Valluy, a senior manager with French electrical equipment firm Sicamex, said the best that non-American and non-British firms could expect from the reconstruction effort was "occasional crusts", in the form of low value-added operations in sectors already operating to European norms.

Sicamex remained relatively confident it would win electrical contracts, because Iraq's entire low-voltage grid has been designed and maintained according to French standards for the last 20 years, thanks to earlier contracts with state-owned power giant Electricite de France.

"They're not going to change the whole grid, so it will be difficult to cut out French companies," Valluy said.

However, he believes it to be inevitable that British and US companies will take the lion's share of contracts in the cash-cow oil sector.

Existing Iraqi oil contracts painstakingly negotiated by French companies over the years "are likely to be dropped", he said.

Sounds good to me.

Posted By Admiral Quixote (Solport) at March 21, 2003 03:26 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Dear Admiral Quixote,

I noticed your answer about some part of my declaration regarding french fears about future market in Irak.
I regret the fact that this article did not mention also the comments I made regarding the long common history shared by France and USA and the fact that although France does not share the US administration position on the iraqi file ,France and the USA are tight by a common share of vital values and common culture and have a common history of over 200 years.
I would like also to raise the fact that I have also declared that I was really disappointed by the fact that a lot of people these days are trying to focuse on what divides us for the moment rather than focusing on what gathers us together.
I think the only winners of all this stupid turmoil are the ennemies of our shared values.

Looking forward to receive your comments on my mail,c.valluy@sicamex.com as I do not know how to use this post service.

With Kind Regards

Claude-Henri VALLUY

Posted by: VALLUY at April 2, 2003 08:54 AM

Dear Claude-Henri,
I will be glad to respond via a new post. Since this is an opinion question, I'll respond at the Op-Ed part of the site. I'll send you an email when I do so.

Cheers,
Don

Posted by: Admiral Quixote at April 2, 2003 01:48 PM