The shares, priced at €32 per share for private investors and €33 for institutional buyers, were launched on 21 November but in the past week have failed to rise to levels above the discounted retail price that had been hoped, leaving institutional investors feeling shortchanged.

The offering raised €7 billion ($8.2 billion) giving a market value for EdF of just under €60 billion, a figure that some analysts suggest is over the odds. This contrasts with GdF which saw its debut shares leap by more than 20% on the first day’s trading.