FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron, attends a visit on MSC Meraviglia cruise ship at the STX Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) - France and Italy could reach a deal over the STX France shipyards at a meeting of the two countries’ leaders on Wednesday, an official at French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.

France clashed with Italy in July after ordering a "temporary" nationalization of STX, cancelling a deal in which Italian state-owned Fincantieri FCT.MI and another Italian investor had agreed to buy a 54.6 percent stake.

France took the decision after Fincantieri, which had agreed to buy the majority stake from STX’s former South Korean owners, rejected a French government proposal of 50-50 ownership.

France has proposed extending co-operation to the field of naval defense, in which its Naval Group military shipyard - formerly known as DCNS - is an important player.

The French government is also keen to preserve jobs at the STX Saint-Nazaire site on France’s Atlantic Coast.