Bloody "Gauls".
Across the Pyrenees, the attitude of the giant Alstom to derail the order for the 146 future RER B trains is judged very severely.
Several newspapers have devoted analyzes and forums to this case, of which CAF, the Spanish manufacturer based in Beasáin, 40 km south of San Sebastian, in the heart of the Basque Country, is a victim.
CAF, present in 40 countries around the world, has won large orders in the United Kingdom, Latin America and Saudi Arabia.
But in France, Alstom seems to do everything to put a stick in its wheels, notes the Spanish economic press.
The "culture of monopoly"
An editorial writer for the newspaper Noticia sde Gu ipuzcoa (the Basque province, headquarters of CAF) points to the “arrogance” of the French group, which has just bought Bombardier and refuses to honor the tender won by the latter in partnership with the Spanish CAF.
"The giant Alstom is struggling to move from the culture of monopoly to that of free competition", encouraged in this by public authorities for a long time "accomplices" to eliminate competition on the French market, writes Carlos Etxeberri.
Alstom's attitude is that of "a sore loser", adds
E l E conomista, "which lowers its prestige at the same time as it harms users of Parisian public transport".
The Basque group, which has been expanding rapidly in the world in recent years, does not intend to stop there.
According to the EFE press agency, "internal sources" at the company confide that CAF "is currently analyzing the repercussions" of Alstom's withdrawal, while "ensuring its willingness to move forward for this. market ".
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This Monday, in Les Echos, the CEO of CAF France, Alain Picard, responds to the attacks of the CEO of Alstom, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, who considers “non viable” the contract of MI20 trains, won by CAF Bombardier.
Contesting any technical or financial anomaly in the file - validated by SNCF and RATP -, Alain Picard notes that "Alstom's actions prevent all competition in the rail sector".
Legally, CAF says it is ready to attack on several fronts.
“There is an obstacle to competition on the national territory, which falls under the French Competition Authority.
And at European level, the difficulty for a third party to enter the French market raises the question of remedies that are not effective, ”lists Alain Picard.
Whatever the outcome of this "mega contract", the Basque group will continue to invest in its factory in Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Hautes-Pyrénées), adds the manager.
CAF was a candidate for the takeover of the Alstom plant in Reichshoffen (Bas-Rhin).
But it was finally sold to the modest Czech group Skoda Transportation, despite the preference of Alstom unions ... for CAF!
A choice which still complicates, today, the industrial process to honor this order to more than 2.5 billion, which could be at least two years late.
To the chagrin of the million Ile-de-France RER B users.
