Yet her forthright views on this suggest an old-fashioned school-marm

Yet her forthright views on this suggest an old-fashioned school-marm. In one of her other roles, Newbold is governor of a small Roman Catholic school in Camden I can see why.. The wood-cutter's son has rounded on the big, bad wolf. Little Red Riding Hood, clad from head to toe in Gucci, had better watch her step, however. The wood-cutter in question may be posing as her saviour, but he is no mean wolf himself. Francois Pinault, the son of a Breton log merchant, and Bernard Arnault, scion of the Parisian politico-bureaucratic-business establishment, are the fiercest and biggest beasts in the French corporate jungle. Until Friday morning, their paths had crossed only once and relatively amicably. Now they are going head-to-head, and claw-to-claw, over the ownership of Gucci, the Italian luxury-goods company.The issue is not simply control of Gucci.

In a double swoop on Friday, Mr Pinault made it clear that he intends to challenge the Louis Vuitton- Moet Hennessy (LVMH) group of Mr Arnault on its own territory: the international market for luxury goods.Mr Arnault had been stalking Gucci for months. On Friday, Mr Pinault's PPR group seized 40 per cent of Gucci for pounds 1.7bn, in the form of an expansion of equity which instantly reduced Mr Arnault's painstakingly acquired share of the upmarket handbag, clothes and shoemaker to 18 per cent (from around 25 per cent). Simultaneously, Mr Pinault's family holding company paid pounds 600m for another long-time Arnault target, the beauty and luxury wing of the Sanofi group - owner of labels such as Yves Saint Laurent, Van Cleef and Arpels and Roger et Gallet.The intention is to merge the two companies and create a new luxury goods giant which will prove a "pole of attraction" to other smaller, luxury companies and challenge the dominance of LVMH. Mr Pinault promises that Gucci will retain the commercial and artistic autonomy that it would have surrendered if it had been purchased by LVMH.

The Breton has a reputation for allowing considerable freedom to his companies - so long as they are successful.Mr Arnault, 50, son of a wealthy business family, graduate of the best schools and elite colleges, has not given up. "Mr Pinault's triumph will last for only a few hours," he is reported to have growled to his associates. He announced a hostile bid for 100 per cent of Gucci at an undisclosed price somewhere above the $75 (pounds 45) a share paid by Mr Pinault's PPR. Mr Arnault is also challenging the Pinault-Gucci deal in the Dutch courts (although an Italian company, Gucci is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange).