In a joint trip to the eastern town of Belfort that is the cradle of their cooperation in France, the bosses of Alstom (ALSO.PA) and General Electric (GE.N) defended their tie-up as good for business, jobs and France. French train and turbine maker Alstom agreed over the weekend a $16.9 billion deal with GE that had been fiercely challenged by the French government and will be the U.S. conglomerate’s biggest acquisition ever.