Military matters will be at the heart of a meeting next month between the French and Italian ministers to finalise a deal in the increasingly bitter battle for control of STX France.
The French government has opted for temporary nationalisation of STX France after the restructuring of its financially troubled South Korean parent, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding.
The decision to scrap the original agreement — which would have seen Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and a private-equity investor partner hold a majority stake in the Saint-Nazaire yard, leaving the French government with 36% — has not gone down well in Italy.