France airs fears over London Stock Exchange merger with Deutsche Börse

French finance minister calls on European commission to intervene, saying that resulting group would stifle competition

A planned 20bn merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Birse poses a threat to competition and the European economy, the French finance minister has claimed.

Michel Sapin said a combination of the two would make it too dominant and called on the European commission to intervene. He told Reuters: "I want to express the concern of the French government on this tie-up. We have doubts about the consequences this could have for the financing of the real economy in France and Europe.

Related: LSE's merger with Deutsche Birse will trouble shareholders