* Anne Lauvergeon may be replaced after 10 years at Areva
* Areva's top job key for French nuclear industry shake-up
* Outspoken CEO has made enemies in industry, government
By Marie Maitre
PARIS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Anne Lauvergeon has been voted one of the world's most powerful women and survived years at the heart of France's fickle industrial politics -- but she faces the battle of her career to keep her job at nuclear group Areva.
A list of candidates for the CEO post is to be drawn up by Areva's supervisory board chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta, audit committee chief Rene Ricol and board member Francois David -- and handed to President Nicolas Sarkozy by the end of February.
It is unclear whether it will include Lauvergeon, dubbed "Atomic Anne" by the media for her feisty personality.
Sarkozy is reportedly opposed to Lauvergeon staying on after Areva's loss of a landmark nuclear deal in Abu Dhabi, cost overruns at a Finnish project and a spat with EDF head Henri Proglio, who industry sources say is close to Sarkozy.
There is no clear front-runner to replace Lauvergeon, but industry observers say anyone coming from the elite schools Polytechnique and Mines would be an advantage.
A decision on whether the 51-year-old CEO stays or goes -- likely to taken by Sarkozy -- could in turn redraw one of France's most sensitive industries.
Since creating Areva in 2001 from a disparate jumble of state-owned assets, Lauvergeon has fought to keep her group independent, fending off government plans to tie it up with Alstom or, more recently, EDF.
"People know that for as long as she is there, these kinds of baroque ideas will never flourish. She is summoning up every ounce of her energy to squash them," said a colleague.
A public spat with EDF chief Henri Proglio -- seen as close to Sarkozy and who is pushing for an alliance between EDF and Areva -- is reported to have weakened her position.
"She's cooked," weekly Le Point quoted a source as saying, in an example of unusually strong language inspired by the former aide to the late Socialist President Francois Mitterrand, rather than the elegant jousting typical of French boardrooms.
"Diplomacy has never been her forte," recalls a French journalist who covered her days as Mitterrand's "sherpa" in 1991-1995, when she was responsible for preparing G7 meetings.
"She was very young, loud-mouthed, very ambitious and she wasn't afraid to stick her nose in when she had to. She drove some of her older colleagues mad," the journalist said.
"MADAME NON"
In a meteoric ascent that took the daughter of a history teacher -- who found Areva's name from a Spanish cistercian abbey -- from presidential aide at just 31 to investment bank Lazard and eventually Areva, Lauvergeon has made a large network of influent friends and an uncanny number of arch enemies.
The driven executive is a product of France's elite education, with a degree from the top-flight engineering school of the Mines, yet she is spontaneous and never adopted the codes and hackneyed phrases of her discreetly powerful world.
Her self-confidence and barbed phrases, as well as her feminine style in a manly world -- where her short leather skirts, couture high heels, fur jackets and stylish bob stand out -- have made her a corporate star in the media.
To a minister who once summoned her to chastise her management, Lauvergeon said: "You can't fire me, I am an icon in this country."
It was during her days as presidential aide that Lauvergeon met Sarkozy, then a budget minister.
"They got on well. They are from the same generation. They are both full of energy, very self-willed. Sarkozy kept telling her she was born to become a politician," said a person who has known Lauvergeon for many years.
Once elected, Sarkozy offered her the economy ministry but Lauvergeon declined and the job went to Christine Lagarde. "This was a turning point in the relationship," the source said.
Her managerial performance was also called into question, with the government ordering an audit of Areva's accounts.
"She isn't an operations person but lots of CEOs aren't," said an investment banker who asked not be named. "She's very good at getting Areva's message out and talking to buyers."
Lauvergeon travels the globe to promote Areva's expertise. She is always on the go, often forgetting coats or telephones in a train or a plane, or putting on unmatched shoes in her haste. A mother of two, when in Paris she times her working days according to her 11- and 7-year old children's school hours.
Some political observers speculate that should she be replaced at Areva, she may go back to Lazard, take over Paris transport operator RATP, or become an industry minister. Those close to her squash such talk.
"She's not even asking herself the question," said one. (Additional reporting by Matthieu Protard; Editing by David Holmes)