January 2012
SeaFrance has gone into liquidation after a government bailout
was ruled illegal under EU law.

French ferry firm SeaFrance went into official liquidation on Monday after the European commission ruled a bailout by the French government was illegal.

A French court said the offer of a buyout by a co-operative of company employees was neither viable nor acceptable.

It follows months of speculation about SeaFrance's future and several failed rescue plans. The French government had said it would put €200m (£165m) into the company but this was deemed illegal under European Union rules.

The closure comes as a political blow to French leader Nicolas Sarkozy four months from a presidential election in which he is expected to seek a second term in office. Sarkozy told a press conference in Germany, where he was meeting chancellor Angela Merkel, that his government was working on plans to revive the firm.