3:15 PM -- In their notes about the potential outcome of this Thursday's Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA) and Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU) shareholder meetings, the analyst community has failed to mention the most important factor affecting the vote in Paris –- the quality of the solids and liquids on offer to the voters. (See Alcatel Lucent Merger Under Fire and Analyst: Alcatel Should Rethink Things.)

Imagine, mes amis, the institutional masses turning up at the Palais Omnisports of Paris-Bercy on Thursday to find weak, tepid coffee and some doughy croissants. The merger would be killed off in minutes.

For Alcatel's sake, let's hope its catering corps doesn't have an off day.

— Ray Le Maistre, Food & Drinks Editor, Light Reading