The money raised will go towards a fund for tech businesses and start-ups, in line with French president Emmanuel Macron's desire to rebrand France as the 'start-up nation'. The FDJ holds a monopoly on lottery games, scratchcards and non-online sports betting. The move to offload a rare money-making state enterprise has been criticised by opposition parties as tantamount to selling off "the family jewels". Of the 28 percent not held by the state, 13.4 percent is owned by veterans organisations, and some by employees. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's government has vowed to privatise a number of entities, including the Groupe ADP airports company and energy company Engie, to feed the €10-billion fund to kickstart technological innovation.

Source: The Local November 06, 2019 07:30 UTC