The buyers rushed to improve their offers after prolonged observation period

The Commercial Court of Marseille Monday urged potential buyers of SNCM to improve their offers within ten days and extended the six-month observation period, negotiations on background between Brussels, the French State and the shareholders of the shipping company in receivership.

Marseille court has put pressure on the three declared buyers -the Rocca Corsican group, the former director of the port of Marseille and Christian Garin society Baja Ferries- to "permit the improvement of takeover bids," the court in a judgment which AFP obtained a copy, not granting them a period of nine days to submit their completed file. The three deals are "not admissible as is", reiterated that the court will consider when a new hearing on 27 May.

He also extended until November 28, the observation period of the company, as requested by the prosecutor of Marseilles, Brice Robin, at the hearing of 22 April.

The court did not give in and that the company's unions designated as "pressure from Brussels", the European Commission having ruled, in a letter of 27 April to the French authorities against an extension of the period observation of six months.

Brussels wanted the new period granted does not exceed "a month or two months," even threatening France to "procedural measures" to "distortion of competition" if the activity of SNCM should continue until fall.

- "The boats will sail this summer" -

The management of the Company seemed to be satisfied with the arbitration of commercial court, saying that "the ships of SNCM or the buyer will sail this summer."

But the pressure on buyers leaves speechless unions. "We lost three weeks for, ultimately, lead to ask, in an emergency, a new presentation of bids within eight days (May 20, note) and make a decision in sixteen days (May 27)" laments Maurice Perrin, a representative of the CFE-CGC.

For Pierre Maupoint Vandeuil, another delegate of the union leadership will require that the court specifies the end of the month "calendar" to detail what needs to be implemented during the observation period.

The social component also crystallizes dissatisfaction administrators, the prosecutor and the company staff with, according to the various recovery plans, only 500 to 800 employees maintained against CDI 1,500 today. They also consider that the backup plan of employment (PSE) is underfunded by the current shareholders -Transdev (66%) and the State (25%) - the company.

"We have still not financing the social plan by Transdev," insists Jean-François Simmarano, CGT. The union representative said Tuesday morning that "all will be flat with management and court administrators" at an extraordinary EC Marseilles office of the company.

Employees also deplore not being able to take cognizance of all the intense exchanges in recent weeks, between the European Commission and the government and between the latter and shareholders.

In a new letter of 6 May, the Commission recalled that the two sentences (in total € 440 million) imposed by Europe "ordering the repayment of illegal and incompatible aid with the internal market perceived by SNCM n ' have not been performed on time and that the claims related to these two decisions need to be entered in the liabilities of the liquidation. "

Meanwhile, the Director General for Competition of the European institution, Alexander Italianer, noted that the resumption of records seemed to present "an economic discontinuity between SNCM and candidate-buyers." A condition that Brussels has always required to consider abandoning sanctions.

SNCM was placed in receivership in late November, unable to repay 117 million euros of debt claimed by its majority shareholder, Transdev and its parent company, Veolia.