Aeroports de Paris : France would stop foreign powers gaining control of airports group ADP - Le Maire

PARIS (Reuters) - France would block any moves by a foreign power to gain control of ADP, the airports company whose possible privatisation has been approved by the government, Finance Minster Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday.

"If a foreign power wanted to gain control of ADP, the response would be 'No'," Le Maire told a programme hosted jointly by CNews TV, Europe 1 radio and Les Echos newspaper.

"The French state will have the last word regarding who might be ADP's principal shareholder," he added.

Earlier this month, France's lower house of parliament approved plans for the possible privatisation of ADP, lottery operator Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) and for a reduction of France's stake in utility Engie.

Those privatisation proposals form part of a broader strategy to raise cash to boost the economy and finance technological innovations in France.

Shares in ADP, in which the French state has a stake of just over 50 percent, are up by around 20 percent so far in 2018.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Myriam Rivet; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Dale Hudson)