Comment by ants_everywhere
9 days ago
France has had a reputation for being especially active in industrial espionage since at least the 1990s. Here's an article from 2011 https://www.france24.com/en/20110104-france-industrial-espio...
I always thought it was a little unusual that the state of France owns over 25% of the defense and cyber security company Thales.
> I always thought it was a little unusual that the state of France owns over 25% of the defense and cyber security company Thales.
Unusual from an American perspective, maybe. The French state has stakes in many companies, particularly in critical markets that affect national sovereignty and security, such as defence or energy. There is a government agency to manage this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agence_des_participations_de_l... .