France to urge state-backed firms to scrap dividends - minister

The French government will ask companies in which the state has a stake not to pay dividends, Employment Minister Muriel Penicaud said on Friday, upping pressure on firms across France to forego payouts as they deal with the coronavirus crisis. Unions have already called for all French companies to scrap payments to shareholders to preserve cash.

"For companies in which the state has a stake and including a minority one, we will ask them not to pay out dividends, at least to individuals," Penicaud told CNews TV. The French government has stakes in many firms, including French carmaker Renault and energy groups like EDF and Engie.