France pushes Japan to accept Renault-Nissan merger: reports

Japanese media reported yesterday that France wants a merger between Renault and Nissan following the arrest of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, but according to France’s economy minister changing the current setup is “not on the table”. Ghosn headed a powerful alliance between Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault before his arrest in November on charges of financial misconduct.

A delegation including Mar - tin Vial -- a Renault director designated by the French government -- made the merger request at talks with Japanese officials in Tokyo, Kyodo News reported, citing sources close to the matter. The French government is the biggest shareholder in Renault with a stake of more than 15 per cent, while Renault owns 43.4pc of the Japanese carmaker Nissan with voting rights.

A merger between the two is favoured by French President Emmanuel Macron, Kyodo said. Japanese business daily Nikkei also re- ported the merger r e - quest by the French delegation, saying Nissan had been opposed to giving Paris greater sway over the Japanese carmaker. According to Nikkei, the delegation also said Renault wants to name Nissan’s next chairman -- a post that has remained vacant since Ghosn was ousted on his arrest in November.

But the reports appear to contradict comments French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire made to Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) newspaper, published Sunday. “A shareholder rebalancing, a change in cross-shareholdings between Renault and Nissan is not on the table,” he told the French weekly