France's government said Wednesday it has asked power and gas utilities Electricite de France and Gaz de France to prepare for their partial privatization in 2005. The government asked EdF to prepare a share issue worth between ¤8 billion and ¤11 billion (US$10.4 billion and US$14 billion) to help restore finances at the world's largest power company as measured by installed capacity. GdF must also carry out preparatory work for a capital increase in 2005, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.