Judge leads Alcatel raid

Fresh drama unfolded across the Channel yesterday when a judge raided the Paris headquarters of GEC Alsthom, the joint electrical enginering venture run by Alcatel Alsthom, and Britain's GEC, writes Martin Flanagan.

Dominque de Causans, a spokesman for GEC Alsthom, would add nothing to his confirmation of the morning raid. It is not known whether files were removed by Judge Renaud van Ruymbeke, or which managers were interviewed.

On Friday a judge banned Pierre Suard, chairman and chief executive of Alcatel Alsthom, from running any company, and barred him from meeting anyone involved in the alleged overcharging of state-owned France Telecom.

In London, GEC's shares closed up 5p at 287.5p.