France's Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has fought to save Alstom

Shareholders voted 90.5% in favour of a share issue, partly backed by the French state and giving it up to 31% of the group's share capital.

They gave the go-ahead a despite last-minute tweaking of the terms of a debt-for-equity swap.

This change meant that the French state was able to vote on the resolution.

Chief finance officer Philippe Jaffre called the move "purely technical".

"There is no change to the fundamental nature of this operation," Mr Jaffre told reporters in Paris.

"This is purely technical due to the dispersed nature of our shareholder base."

Helping hand

France's rescue package, worth as much as 2.2bn euros (�1.5bn, $2.8bn) got EU approval on Wednesday despite opposition from the German chancellor, who condemned what he called French industrial nationalism.

The plan entails the French government taking on up to 700m euros of Alstom's debts in exchange for shares in the company.

Problems with the deal had arisen because the government was banned from voting on resolutions that involved only itself.

Under the new plan, the debt-for-equity swap will be included as part of a planned wider rights issue, with new shares being paid for with cash or debt.

That will allow the state to vote, helping lift the number of shareholders represented to more than the 25% level required.

Rocky ride

Alstom's stock has shed almost 90% of its value in the past two years as the firm's financial troubles mounted on the back of costly technical faults and strategic errors.

This forced the company into selling assets, rights issues and eventually French government aid.

The rescue package aims to save 70,000 jobs, strengthen Alstom's equity and give it four years of breathing space to turn around the loss-making business.