The gas grid, which manages most French gas pipelines and storage sites, is currently 75% owned by Engie, with the remaining 25% owned by state investor Caisse des Depots and insurer CNP.
The new law will allow the state-controlled investors to jointly hold only a majority stake in GRTgaz, rather than the entire capital, according to a version of the bill cited by top French court Conseil d’Etat.
A separate, smaller French gas grid company in the southwest of the country, TIGF, is controlled by Italy’s Snam, Europe’s biggest pipeline operator, which has a strategic alliance with Belgium’s Fluxys.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government is planning several large privatisations with the proceeds already earmarked for a new €10 billion (US$11.6 billion) innovation fund.
