France needs tough law on industrial spying

France needs tough laws against industrial espionage to defend itself in a "war" for new technology intensified by the hunger of emerging economies like China, a legislator for the ruling UMP party said on Friday.

Bernard Carayon, currently drafting legislation for the protection of economic information in France, said he was not surprised by news this week that carmaker Renault had suspended three executives for suspected industrial espionage.

A government source told Reuters on Friday that President Nicolas Sarkozy's office has asked French intelligence services to investigate the role China may have played in the scandal.

"This is an economic war...a war without an image and without a face," Carayon told Reuters. "It is a war which does not stop growing and which has intensified even more with the emergence of new industrial powers like China."

France's car industry has previously been targeted by industrial spies, with both parts manufacturer Valeo and tyre-maker Michelin affected.

Carayon said successive French governments had failed to develop an effective policy to protect its industries.

"France has not given itself the means to fight in an effective manner against this problem," he said, adding there was a need for better legal protection of sensitive information.

"A real state policy on economic security is needed. We cannot leave such a sensitive matter at a junior administrative level."

Carayon said the industries most at risk from spying in France were those with long development times.

"You need for example 10 years to develop a car, 12 for a medicine, 25 years for a fighter plane. There is a big temptation to cheat to win the race when you are behind. That seems to be what has happened."

The information leaked from Renault is thought to relate to the high-profile electric vehicle programme, a key plank of the carmaker's strategy in which, with its Japanese alliance partner Nissan, it is investing billions of euros.

China, where auto exhaust emissions account for around 70 percent of air pollution in major cities, is pushing green vehicles heavily as part of the development of its auto industry.

Carayon expressed surprise that a major international corporate like Renault had fallen foul of industrial spies.

"What is surprising is that an industrial group of this quality did not protect itself better, particularly in light of the DCRI (intelligence service) which makes thousands of visits each year to businesses to inform them on how to protect their strategic assets," he said.