Thales, a defence group partially owned by the French state, has repeatedly said it is not interested in Atos' computing assets known as Big Data & Security (BDS) because it does not fit its fast-expanding civil cybersecurity business.

French IT firm Atos confirmed on Monday that it had received a non-binding letter of intent from the French government to buy some of its business divisions.

The company, which is involved in France's nuclear-deterrent as well as land-warfare programs, is at risk of falling under foreign control.