...And Things Get Even Uglier In French Parliament

We don't want to say things have taken a turn for the worse in Toulouse... but it's seldom a good thing when the police show up.

In the latest development in the increasingly bizarre saga regarding who knew what, and when, about the latest delay to hit Airbus's A380 program... Forbes reports that police raided Airbus headquarters Monday night, seeking to establish whether management knew of that delay before several executives at parent company EADS sold off some of their stock in the European consortium.

Since the revelation of EADS co-CEO Noel Forgeard's stock sale came to light late last week, there have been several calls for him to resign his position... including the latest rumor, that "the German side" of EADS -- automaker DaimlerChrysler -- has demanded Forgeard (above, right), who is French, to step down.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for EADS stated he could "clearly" deny those rumors... but several sources claim EADS has asked Forgeard to stay out of the limelight for the time being, nonetheless.

The matter has even escalated to French parliament, with a vitriolic exchange Tuesday in the National Assembly.

"...I denounce the ease, and I would even say face-to-face, the cowardice, the cowardice of your position," French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told Socialist leader Francois Hollande, over Hollande's insistence that the French government state publicly whether it supported Forgeard or not.

MSNBC reports that statement prompted Hollande and several of his fellow party members to advance towards the government side of the assembly... before they were stopped by parliamentary stewards.

Socialist party members later walked out in protest.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.eads.com