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The French government hasn't decided whether state-controlled power company Electricite de France (EDF.FR) should walk away from its delayed $4.5 billion plan to buy half of U.S.-based Constellation Energy Group Inc.'s (CEG) nuclear business, government officials told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.

The government-designated incoming chairman and chief executive of EDF, Henri Proglio, told lawmakers this week he had doubts about whether the investment in Constellation is in the company's best interests.

However, the government officials said there has been no formal review of EDF's U.S. plans.

"There has been no decision made yet, and so far, the government has no position for now," said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.

"To my knowledge, (EDF's) strategy in the U.S. isn't being called into question," another government source said.

The Financial Times reported earlier Friday that EDF is facing pressure from the French government to abandon its current plan with Constellation, citing a senior civil servant.

The French state owns 85% of EDF.

"This is an industrial case and this can be decided by an EDF board meeting only," the senior government official told Dow Jones.

EDF has stretched its balance sheet in the past 18 months on a buying spree that helped double the company's net debt to EUR36.79 billion by June 30 from the same time a year earlier. Besides Constellation, EDF has acquired the big U.K. nuclear group British Energy.

"For us, the priority strategy for EDF is indeed in Europe, notably the U.K. and Italy, and everything outside Europe is less essential to EDF's expansion," the senior government official said.

However, the second government source emphasized that outgoing EDF CEO Pierre Gadonneix's plan to invest in Constellation's nuclear business and then build new plants in the U.S. could bear fruit.

"We'll see in some years, but essentially it's a strategy that we validated and which seems pertinent," the person said.

"If EDF gets to build its power stations [in the U.S.], it's an affair that can certainly be profitable for EDF and for the nuclear industry," the person said.

EDF is the world's largest operator of nuclear power plants, with 58 reactors in France.

The company agreed in December to buy 49.99% of Constellation's nuclear assets and build four nuclear reactors with the U.S. company. The deal has been delayed due to regulatory issues.

"The process is in progress," an EDF spokeswoman said Friday, adding that the company is waiting for a decision from regulators in the U.S. state of Maryland, where Constellation is based.

Maryland regulators confirmed Friday that the decision on Constellation would be received later in the day.

Constellation said Friday that it remained committed to the nuclear sale to EDF and that the deal could close in the next two weeks.

"Henri Proglio hasn't yet spoken in public about the industrial strategy he intends to conduct," the EDF spokeswoman said.

The second government official had no knowledge of any official study on whether EDF should focus on Europe, the person said.

If Henri Proglio were to propose a change of strategy, the government would listen and weigh up the reasons and the consequences, the person said.

-By Adam Mitchell and Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40171740; geraldine.amiel@dowjones.com;