France will put 20 billion euros (25.2 billion U.S. dollars) into its strategic investment fund, established to protect key domestic industries, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced Thursday.
"We want to turn this crisis into an opportunity for development," Sarkozy said on a visit to the Daher aerospace equipment factory, which is to receive 85 million euros (107 million dollars) from the fund.
Sarkozy said the fund will be managed by a government financial institution, Caisse des Depots, under the control of parliament.
He named Jean-Francois Dehecq, chairman of pharmaceutical gaint Sanofi-Aventis, to be the head of the fund's orientation committee. Patricia Barbizet, an executive of the private investment group Artemis, was appointed president of the fund's investment committee.
The strategic investment fund will support French firms ride out the financial crisis. The amount of money, however, is much smaller than the 100 billion euros (126 billion dollars) expected to be sanctioned when Sarkozy first announced the fund on October 23.
Source:Xinhua
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