Total moves finance department back to Paris due to Brexit, costs - CEO

PARIS (Reuters) - French energy major Total <TOTF.PA> will move its finance department back to Paris from London due to Britain's impending exit from the European Union, and also to reduce costs, the firms Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said on Tuesday.

The blue chip company caused an uproar in France when it decided in 2013 to move the 70-strong department from its Paris headquarters to London.

"We have just decided to bring it back to Paris. There is Brexit at play ... and then there is a question of costs," Pouyanne told a Euronext conference, answering questions about the attractiveness of Paris as a destination for business.

Companies are making final preparations as Britain is poised to officially leave the European Union on Jan. 31.

(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Louise Heavens)