PARIS (Reuters) - France stepped up efforts on Friday to protect Atos, the country's struggling and debt-ridden software company which is undergoing a restructuring.

The parliament's Finance Commission said on Friday it had adopted an amendment that could lead to a nationalisation of Atos.

On Thursday, the French state also subscribed to a capital increase at Atos division Bull.

Atos, regarded as one of Europe's most strategic firms in the software and technology sector, secures communications for the French military as it owns the supercomputers that simulate nuclear bomb tests in France.

It also provides critical IT services to the National Health Service in Britain.

(Reporting by Kate Entringer; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)