French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has said his government will defend stricken bank Societe Generale against any hostile takeover bids from rivals.
Mr Fillon's comments come as the lender continues to struggle in the aftermath of a trading scandal that cost it 4.9bn euros ($7bn; Ј3.7bn).
He added that the government was also "very attentive" against any attempt to destabilise Societe Generale.
Speculation that the bank could be a takeover target sent its shares up 9%.
"The government will not let Societe Generale become the object of hostile raids from other Rogue trader 'in police custody' ...
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Despite the prime minister's comments, analysts said the lender was vulnerable both to takeover, and also the poaching of key staff.
"Societe Generale is prey - nothing will be as it was," said Mac Pagezy, president of recruitment firm Eurosearch and Associes.
'Change the captain'
The prime minister's comments come after other senior French politicians have increased the pressure on Societe Generale's embattled chairman and chief executive Daniel Bouton.
"Societe Generale is in a crisis situation," said Economy Minister Christine Lagarde in an interview on French television.
"In a difficult moment, the board members are there to decide if the person in charge is the best placed to run the ship when it is pitching a bit, or whether they should change the captain."
Mr Lagarde also reiterated the government's annoyance that Societe Generale - France's second largest bank - did not inform it about the scandal until a day before it was publicly announced.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has already said that the bank's senior managers had to accept their share of responsibility for the action of the bank's alleged rogue trader - Jerome Kerviel.
'Unauthorised deals'
Prosecutors are now appealing against Monday's decision by judges to release the 31-year-old on bail.
Mr Kerviel is being investigated for breach of trust, falsifying documents and breaching computer security - but not the more serious charge of fraud.
His lawyers say Societe Generale is using him as a scapegoat to cover up the bank's wider losses caused by bad US sub-prime mortgage debt.
Societe Generale says Mr Kerviel had a unauthorised position, or a bet, worth about 50bn euros on the future direction of European shares.
That was more than the bank's value - about 35bn euros - and about the size of France's entire annual budget deficit.
To avoid that potentially catastrophic loss the bank had to unwind Mr Kerviel's trades, but that still cost it 4.9bn euros.
Societe Generale said Mr Kerviel's background in handling the administration of trades enabled him to fool those monitoring traders' activities.
It says Mr Kerviel invented deals that, on paper, balanced out his bets.
(BBC)
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