July 12, 2007: French arms manufacturers are complaining that French politicians are interfering with efforts to sell more French weapons abroad. The major problem is French prosecutors who crack down on bribes paid to foreign officials, in order to get French weapons selected. The arms executives complain that French politicians are not providing enough protection and support for French firms caught trying to employ bribes. The French are particularly miffed that their own officials won't act like the British government, which recently quashed an investigation of bribes paid to Saudi Arabian officials, to facilitate the purchase of British made warplanes. The French lost out on that one, and they are not happy about it.