France planning 6b euro fund

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the government and a state-owned lender will raise 6 billion euros ($7.6 billion) to create a sovereign fund aimed at protecting and developing the country's "strategic companies."

The state will also endow the fund with 7 billion euros in minority stakes it already owns, including 15 percent in carmaker Renault SA and its holding in Air France-KLM Group. State-owned bank Caisse des Depots & Consignations will also add about 7 billion euros in assets to the fund.

The creation of the fund is aimed at implementing Sarkozy's plan, announced last month, of protecting strategic French companies from "foreign predators" and helping them survive the global financial crisis. The turmoil has wiped out about 45 percent of the value of the benchmark CAC 40 index, choked bank lending and left businesses struggling to find financing.