Balladur

"He enters negotiations with the government Neither Madelin nor Séguin, and even less Balladur, are willing to block the agreement with Môlnlycke. They simply want guarantees on how Arnault will use his loot. Everyone has their own ideas on this. Séguin, elected in the Vosges, wants him to devote part of the 2 billion to modernizing the Boussac factories in his region. Balladur, for his part, wants him to place under sequestration the 338 million francs that the European Union is claiming from France. The Ministry of Finance also demands a guarantee on the 270 million francs of participatory loans that he had received in early 1985. By the way, Arnault is reminded of his promise to give the State a "return to better fortune" clause of up to 300 million francs starting in 1991. Madelin seeks assurances about the future of Boussac's textile industry, which still employs 5,300 people. It is on the eve of the presidential election and it is better to guard against a possible social drama."

"The unions turn to the government to block the sale to the Swedes. And to everyone’s surprise, the right receives their message well. The operation seriously stalls in the ministries, especially in the Ministry of Industry where Alain Madelin becomes angry. Reduced by Chirac and Balladur to a mere figurehead, the minister seizes the opportunity to demand answers from Arnault. He has one of his cabinet members say: "Bernard Arnault has made capital gains on asset sales that were recapitalized by the state and that he is now using in luxury and distribution. Not a penny of the 400 million capital increase he made has gone into textiles.""