French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Monday backed an intervention by the country's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in luxury goods giant LVMH's plans to back out of a takeover of U.S. jeweler Tiffany.

"It was the right decision," Le Maire told France 2 television, saying that Le Drian was working to protect French interests in his intervention on the LVMH-Tiffany deal.

Last week, LVMH said its board had received a letter from the French foreign ministry asking it to delay the acquisition of Tiffany to beyond Jan. 6, 2021, given the threat of additional U.S. tariffs against French products.