We thought the Teutonic giant wouldn’t stay comatose for long. Spurred on, no doubt, by the dubious support of French President Jacques Chirac, Deutsche Borse has begun to think the unthinkable on a challenge to the American takeover of the pan-Continental exchange conglomerate, Euronext.

On Monday, the supervisory board of the German exchange meets to consider new proposals in the matter of Euronext. It’s thought the fresh suggestions include moving some operational areas from Frankfurt to Paris to assuage the nationalistic sensitivities of the French.

They would also embody a higher cash offer than previously made, reducing the proportion of shares in the bid.

If the board approves the plan, Deutsche Borse will place a new bid for the Paris-based company on the table. Some shareholders in Euronext are known to favour a European solution, but NYSE may well be pushed to up its offer. This is not over yet.

Reports are coming in that worker representatives on the supervisory board at Deutsche Borse have asked for an end to the German exchange’s so far abortive attempts to team up with Euronext. This will put yet another obstacle in the path of the already lumbering Teutonic giant’s attempts at European consolidation.

Chief Executive Reto Francioni has been under institutional pressure to limit his bid for the pan-Continental exchange after tabling an offer of £5.9 billion ($10.86 bn), which was rejected after a comprehensively superior bid was received from the New York Stock Exchange.

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) won’t go public and will stand back from the current consolidation mania, which it wisely views as a fad that may be regretted later.

Chief Executive Tom Healy said today that the exchange is too small for an initial public offering, adding it was in no hurry to merge with anyone. “We’re probably too small and we don’t need the money,” Healy told observers at a financial markets conference.

Healy also confirmed that the exchange had not been approached over a takeover. “A corporate event is a good bit of time into the future … some years,” said Healy. One wonders if anyone outside Ireland knows of its existence.

“We outsource our technology from Deutsche Borse. This buys us some time,” he said. “We can afford to watch and see how it all shakes out.”

Now there’s a model that the LSE could follow.

President Chirac of France has signalled his annoyance at the New York Stock Exchange’s incipient takeover of Paris-based Euronext. Speaking at a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, M. Chirac said he wished “a solution could be found between Frankfurt and Euronext”. His comments were dismissed by sources close to Euronext as aimed solely at a German audience.

Deutsche Borse had met its financial advisers to discuss a raised offer for Euronext. This was capped by an agreed deal for Euronext last Friday from the NYSE, which valued the company at about €8 billion (£5.5 billion).

Chirac’s remarks harden the suspicion that the French Government favours a German deal over an American one. Some analysts believe such a deal would be difficult though.

Rumours have been circulating in Paris that Euronext hopes that the Germans will improve its bid to put pressure on the NYSE to raise its terms.