THE billionaire Belgian investor Albert Frère warned the French authorities against “xenophobia” yesterday after claims that President Chirac wanted to prevent him buying Taittinger Champagne.

Mr Frère reacted after reports in France that M Chirac was seeking to keep France’s fifth-biggest champagne house in Gallic hands. The reports, which were denied by the President’s office, come amid accusations of a return to protectionism in France.

In a statement, M Frère levelled a thinly veiled accusation of hypocrisy against Paris. He pointed out that he had helped French companies such as AXA, the insurer, Suez, the utility group, and Total, the oil giant, to invest in Belgium in recent years.

He said: “I cannot for a second imagine that the (French) authorities could display xenophobia towards someone like me who has done so much to help French companies expand abroad.”

The Belgian billionaire is likely to bid for Taittinger when it is sold by Starwood Capital, the American investment fund, which agreed a €2.6 billion (£1.7 billion) deal to take over the Taittinger family’s luxury goods group two months ago.

Starwood Capital is expected to split up Groupe Taittinger — which includes 90 luxury hotels, 800 economy hotels, Annick Goutal, the perfume maker, and Baccarat, the fine crystal business — and offload the vineyard for an estimated at €500 million.

But Les Echos, the French financial newspaper, reported that M Chirac and his centreright Government are keen to stop the champagne house from falling under foreign control.

Officials had organised a meeting between Starwood Capital, Anne-Claire Taittinger, the head of the Taittinger family, and the bank, Crédit Agricole du Nord-Est, at the Elysée Palace to hammer out “une solution française”, the newspaper said.

Mme Taittinger is believed to be looking for financial investors to help her to buy back the champagne house that had been in her family since 1932.

A spokesman for M Chirac said yesterday: “It’s not the role of the authorities to intervene in the question of the possible sale of Taittinger champagne.

“The Elysée has undertaken no steps, nor taken any initiative that would interfere in any way in the future of this company.”

However, the President and Dominique de Villepin, the Prime Minister, have been adopting what critics say is a protectionist stance in the name of “economic patriotism”.

In July, amid rumours of a hostile bid by Pepsico for Danone, the French authorities said that they would oppose any moves to bring the French food giant under the control of an American company.

Last month the Finance Ministry published a list of ten “strategic sectors” in which the Government plans to award itself the right of veto over foreign investment.

The sectors concerned are casinos, private security, weapons manufacturers, biotechnology, pharmaceutical laboratories manufacturing antidotes, civil and military nuclear activities, cryptology, computer security, defence contractors and the interception of communications.

Yesterday, Starwood Capital said that its takeover of Groupe Taittinger would be completed within a week.

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