In an interview to be published in Monday's edition of French business daily Les Echos, but made public Sunday by BNP, Michel Pebereau said that it was false to assert that a clear majority is the only outcome that will be accepted by French regulatory authorities. He said that "in a publicly quoted company, effective control exists well below the 50 per cent mark."

Claiming that his "future partners" were "seeking protection from their shareholders's decisions in a partisan interpretation" of the position of French regulators, Pebereau said that "it is clear that a sole shareholder holding about 35 per cent of voting rights of a company facing a diverse group of shareholders exercises effective control."

Pebereau's statement came hard on the heels ofan interview by Paribas chief executive Andre Levy-Lang published Saturday in the daily Le Figaro in which he said that a recent statement by France's Committee of Credit and Investment Institutions implied that its definition of control for a bank "requires obtaining more than 50 per cent of voting rights."

BNP has launched twin takeover bids for both Societe Generale and Paribas in a bid to thwart a planned friendly merger between its two targets. French regulators have said that they would step in if a clear majority doesn't emerge from one or all of the competing bids -- BNP's separate offers for Paribas and Societe Generale or Societe Generale's offer for Paribas -- but its position in such a case remains unclear.

The war of words between Messrs. Pebereau and Levy-Lang reflects the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the battle, which, barring a sweetened bid by Societe Generale, is set to end on Aug. 6. Both sides say they're confident of winning and are competing to show they have greaterinvestor support.

In another sign of uncertainty, one U.S. investor with stakes in both Paribas and Societe Generale, who asked to remain unnamed, said in an interview Friday that he supported BNP's three-way alliance, but reversed his position Saturday and said he would likely support the Societe Generale-Paribas alliance because it was less risky.