France: Renault’s New Chairman Should Head Nissan Too

France, which owns 15% of Renault SA and 43% of Nissan Motor Co., says Renault’s newly appointed chairman should head both companies.

French President Emmanuel Macron made the suggestion on Friday in a phone call to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a source tells the Fuji News Network.

Renault’s board nominated Jean-Dominique Senard, who is retiring as CEO of French tiremaker Michelin & Cie. in May. France has been lobbying for months to transform the companies’ 19-year-old alliance into an under a single holding company.

Carlos Ghosn, the former chair of both companies, reportedly had been working on such a merger before his mid-November arrest on charges of financial wrongdoing at Nissan.

Nissan has balked at the idea of a merger, unless the lopsided equity and voting rights of the two companies is better balanced.