Citing a government source, the newspaper said Isabelle Kocher, the current CEO, had failed to convince the French state, a major shareholder with a 24 percent stake in the company, to merge the two functions.

No one at the French finance ministry was immediately available for comment. A spokeswoman at Engie declined to comment.

(Reporting by Michel Rose, Benjamin Mallet; Editing by Matthias Blamont)