Why French government will take close interest in Canadian bid for Carrefour

Why French government will take close interest in Canadian bid for Carrefour

It is a name instantly recognisable to anyone who has visited France.Carrefour is as ubiquitous in the French grocery market as Tesco - the company with which it has vied for years for the title of Europe's largest retailer - is in the UK.

Yet even a company the size of Carrefour, which employs 320,000 people in more than 30 countries, is not immune from the threat of takeover.It confirmed today it has received an approach from Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian convenience store operator, sending its shares up by nearly 15%.Carrefour, which - with 105,000 employees in France - is the country's biggest private sector employer, said talks were at a very preliminary stage but that the approach was friendly.

That may go some way to assuaging the concerns of the French government which, interventionist at the best of times, has been