According to sources in the French Defense Ministry which is pressing Thales and Safran to consolidate some of their activities, France froze orders worth 300 million euros with both companies.

The decision to suspend orders is seen as increased pressure on Thales and Safran to resume discussions, which ended in May, on merging some of their operations.
A ministry source said the decision did not amount to a cancellation and concerned "commitments to order" material this year.
The French government owns stakes in both Thales and Safran. Active in aeronautics, defense and security, both companies had been in talks for months on ending the parallel development of certain technologies by request from the French government.