More than a dozen banks could miss out on advisory fees from the planned merger between French utilities Gaz de France and Suez after French ministers warned the deal, the third largest in the world this year, could be scrapped in the face of political and union opposition.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday the friendly merger, which was announced in February and is worth $44.7bn (€34.7bn) according to investment banking research company Thomson Financial, faces "a great danger of never happening", according to French daily newspaper Le Monde.