The notoriously complex system of French markets regulations could be simplified as early as spring next year, with the merger of the two main regulators, according to Laurent Fabius, the French finance minister.

Fabius, who is using the French presidency of the European Union as a platform to crusade for the consolidation of pan-European securities regulation, announced in July that he planned to merge the Commission des Opérations de Bourse (COB) and the Conseil des Marchés Financièrs (CMF).