René Carron, chairman of Crédit Agricole, fears that Société Générale will be unable to survive independently when his merger with rival Crédit Lyonnais forces a second round of banking consolidation in France.

"Our merger will undoubtedly be a catalyst for further consolidation in the French banking sector," said Carron, who agreed a €19.9bn ($20.4bn) offer for Crédit Lyonnais earlier this month.