Eurotunnel seeks creditor protection

PARIS, July 13 (UPI) -- Eurotunnel is asking a French court for protection from its creditors, two groups of which can't agree on a restructuring of the company's debt.

The Channel Tunnel operator went to the Commercial Court of Paris early Thursday after last-ditch talks between creditors on how to handle Eurotunnel's $11 billion debt stalled, the BBC reported.

The head of Eurotunnel, which says operations will continue, also criticized the creditor group led by Deutsche Bank.

"I fail to understand how an institution such as Deutsche Bank has maintained its unreasonable demands without taking into account the consequences on the 2,300 employees and 800,000 shareholders of Eurotunnel," Jacques Gounon said.