France closely monitoring talks between PSA and Fiat Chrysler - finance ministry source

France is closely monitoring merger discussions between French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat Chrysler, with special attention given to governance matters, a French finance ministry source told Reuters on Wednesday.

France wants to ensure state bank BPIFrance's interests are preserved in PSA and will urge the new group to commit to a pan-European battery consortium, the source added.

Fiat Chrysler and PSA said earlier they were in talks over a potential tie-up that could create a $50 billion giant better placed to tackle a host of costly technological and regulatory challenges facing the global auto industry.