"With this merger, we have the ambition to create one of the top energy groups in the world, in particular in the gas sector," Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said at a press conference. Villepin said the move was motivated by "the strategic importance of energy for France." The announcement comes only days after Italian energy group Enel declared an interest in acquiring Suez in order to acquire Suez's Belgian subsidiary Electrabel, the leading utilities company in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Villepin, speaking at his Paris office where he was flanked by the chairmen of both Suez and GDF as well as Finance Minister Thierry Breton, made no reference to the Italian company. The French government, which owns 80 percent of GDF, would wind up with at least a 34-percent share in the new group, Breton said in an interview to be published Sunday in the Journal du Dimanche. French economic policy is considered guided by a so-called "economic patriotism", which calls for French companies and investors to act in the interests of the country. Enel declined to comment on the merger plans when contacted by AFP. But in Rome, Italy's economy minister, Guilio Tremonti, reacted by calling for an end "to European states putting up protection barriers". And its industry minister Claudio Scajola scrapped a meeting planned for Monday with his French counterpart, Francois Loos. The ministry communique did not give a reason for the cancellation of the meeting, which was to deal with the fight against counterfeiting as well as energy issues. Italian Prime Minister Silvo Berlusconi had earlier weighed in on the Enel bid, asking the French government to be impartial. The GDF-Suez merger, which Villepin had said had been under discussion "for several months", is also set against a background of mounting interest in consolidation across the European energy sector, touched off by an offer from German energy group E.ON for Spanish peer Endesa on Tuesday. The Spanish government is also cool toward foreign investors in the country's utilities and Endesa president, Manuel Pizarro, on Saturday rejected any takeover bids for the top Spanish electricity provider. PIN/AFP