PARIS: French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron is pressuring Renault boss Carlos Ghosn to undertake a full merger with alliance partner Nissan on the government’s terms, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Macron’s push sheds more light on a power struggle that burst into public view when the government, the French carmaker’s biggest shareholder, raised its Renault stake in April to secure double voting rights.
It also represents a change of stance by the government, which has previously been wary of an outright Renault-Nissan combination that would weaken its grip on the partnership.
Macron has been urging the Renault-Nissan CEO for months to set up a joint working group with his officials to explore merger scenarios that would tie Renault to its more profitable partner and safeguard French plants and jobs, government and company sources said.
