06 to 1678 EUR the Paris stock exchange

In announcing yesterday morning, to be agreed on the terms of their departure, Mario Colaiacovo, Chairman of the Board of supervision, and Jean-Paul Béchat, the Executive Board, officially put an end to the crisis of governance for months at the head of Safran. There were emergency. Reached later in the night of Sunday to Monday, "peace of the brave" avoids difficult debates at the Council in monitoring, which takes place today. In the aftermath, the State announced that Francis Mer would replace the President of the Supervisory Board, from 15 January, Mario Colaiacovo, the last remaining Member of the Board. Support to the former Minister for the economy to find a replacement for Jean-Paul Béchat when it, next September, at sixty-five years. The arrival of Francis Mer which, irony of history, had blocked the Snecma-Sagem merger project when he officiated at Bercy should restore serenity to a fairly torn company.

In appearance, it is therefore neither winner nor loser. The State solves the problem in accordance with the principles of governance, in if occupant of the first Supervisory Board of the Executive Board then, as Thierry Breton had suggested. Meanwhile, Mario Colaiacovo gets what he wanted, namely linking his departure to his "enemy", even if he wanted more concurrency. In the latter, after having organized his resistance, he gets a stay, even if it is to shorten

nearly two years of its official mandate.

Illuminate the markets quickly

While these past hours, each side claimed the majority of the votes in the Council of supervision, the State, first shareholder with 30 of the capital, thus ensured a sufficient number of Directors to endorse his approach. "If Mario Colaiacovo and Jean-Paul Béchat had not reached an agreement, the State would have been after his logic", confirms in Bercy. Clearly, the Board of today would set end abruptly with the mandates of the two Presidents.

In passing, the public power was able to move indirectly its messages to employees, block shareholders and who had constantly, these days, to claim a simultaneous start of the two men. "It is a compromise, not entirely satisfactory for us, but with provisions which limit the action of Jean-Paul Béchat," said their spokesman, Daniel Dupuy. The latter would indeed well ensure transitional presidency of Sagem Défense Sécurité, main company of the branch of the group, and including the CEO, Jacques Paccard defence was ejected from end of November. However, the hypothesis appear unlikely, except to shake a real "red rag" before Jean-Paul Béchat, who placed a close, Jean-Paul Herteman, head of the company.

Until Francis Mer means a new Board of Directors, the current team, soon limited to its only President, must be strengthened. According to the latest rumors, today the Council may designate Xavier Lagarde, an ex-Sagem who took the head of the domestic communications, and Dominique-Jean Chertier, Deputy Director General in charge of social and institutional affairs of Safran (and former advisor to Jean-Pierre Raffarin at Matignon), indicates close source.

The question of the accounting irregularities affecting accounts of Sagem Défense Sécurité up to 100 million euros ("Les Echos" from December 11). The Committee, met yesterday morning, had to take cognizance of the first analyses of the Commissioners to the accounts. The case appears a priori too large to have been invented last resort by Jean-Paul Béchat, as accuse it his critics. SAFRAN will have to inform the markets quickly. "I am a little doubtful." "It will take society react quickly, because it is in full fog", emphasized yesterday a financial analyst.

Yesterday, the rudder action closed light down 0.06 to 16,78 EUR, the Paris stock exchange.