A takeover of France's Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard by Italy's Fincantieri has been abandoned due to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the governments of the countries said Wednesday. Fincantieri has been trying to buy a majority stake in the French shipyard for several years, but the French government has been reluctant to cede control of the strategic company that makes naval ships as well as cruise vessels to a foreign firm. But the pandemic has upended the cruise industry, making a deal even more difficult. "France and Italy acknowledge that the current economic context does not allow the tie-up between the Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Fincantieri to be pursued," the two governments said in a joint statement. The partnership deal the two firms signed in 2019 was aimed at creating a global shipbuilder to compete more effectively with Chinese and Russian rivals. While the pandemic took the economic lustre off the deal, Italy's La Repubblica has reported that France and Italy were worried that Brussels might block the deal on competition grounds. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire held out hope the deal of some sort may be resurrected at some point. "Let's wait for the dust to settle and see what expressions of interest are confirmed," he said, noting that the shipyards had the necessary resources to develop and sufficient order books for the moment. tsz/rls/spm