France to vet takeovers of firms in data and artificial intelligence

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government aims to broaden its powers to block foreign takeovers of French companies deemed as strategic, to also include firms involved in data protection and artificial intelligence ('AI'), the finance minister said on Friday. Bruno Le Maire said he wanted the two sectors to be added to a 2014 decree requiring foreign companies to get permission from the French state before taking control of firms in the energy, telecoms, transport, water and the health industries. "I think that when you look at current economic trends, there's a certain number of sectors that could be added to this decree," Le Maire said on BFM TV. Do we really want investors to market our data? I'm thinking about artificial intelligence, a very sensitive sector that we want more investment in," he added.