In France, the government is planning to introduce legislation that would set out the mechanisms to privatize national lottery company La Francaise Des Jeux via a share flotation sometime next year. According to the newspaper Les Echos, Christophe Blanchard-Dignac, head of La Francaise Des Jeux, stated that the company was preparing for a decision by the State on how to reduce its 72 % stake and had hired Merrill Lynch as financial advisers.