France told Japan it backs reshaping of Renault-Nissan alliance – Les Echos

PARIS (Reuters) -The French state supports a reshaping of the Renault-Nissan alliance and will not oppose a rebalancing of the equity stakes the two carmakers hold in each other, Les Echos reported on Tuesday.

Les Echos, citing unnamed sources, reported that French President Emmanuel Macron made the assurances to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during talks between the two leaders in Paris on Monday.

The Elysee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Renault declined to comment.

In their negotiations, which focus on how to retool a long-standing alliance between the two carmakers, Renault is hoping to convince Nissan to invest in its electric vehicle business, while Nissan is seeking the sale of part of Renault’s 43% stake in Nissan to put the two partners on a more equal footing.

The French state is Renault’s largest shareholder with a stake of 15%. Renault in turn is Nissan’s largest shareholder with a 43% stake, much more than Nissan holds in the French carmaker.

“There is no longer any major blockage”, Les Echos quoted a source close to the matter as saying. “It is only a question of reassuring the various actors that the two governments are on board.”

According to two sources cited by the newspaper, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire sent a detailed letter to his Japanese counterparts to confirm Paris’ support for this reshaping of the alliance.

(Reporting by Richard Lough, Tassilo Hummel, Elizabeth Pineau and Gilles Guillaume; Writing by Richard Lough and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mark Porter)