RENAULT SA’s alliance with Nissan Motor Co., already stressed by the Carlos Ghosn affair and a failed merger proposal by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, lurched toward a new crisis after developments over the weekend highlighted the deep divide between the two-decade partners.

The government of France — Renault’s most powerful shareholder — extended an apparent olive branch Saturday when Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said during his G20 trip to Fukuoka, Japan, that the state is willing to reduce its 15 percent stake in the French automaker if such a move would strengthen the alliance.

The suggestion was dismissed in Tokyo, where Nissan sees France as a cause of tension in the alliance and would prefer a full exit by the government, according to a person familiar with the matter. Regardless, Le Maire added Sunday that any sale would be a long-term objective, giving near-term priority to “reinforcing the Renault-Nissan alliance.”

Separately, Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard sent a letter Saturday to Nissan chief executive officer Hiroto Saikawa, threatening to abstain from voting on Nissan’s new governance structure during its upcoming shareholder meeting, a person familiar with the matter said. Because Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan and the measure requires two-thirds vote, an abstention would prevent the proposal from passing.

The French automaker is seeking better representation than Nissan’s current plan to set up three committees on nominations, remuneration and auditing, the person said. The move threatens to further inflame already strained relations, even as the person cautioned Renault hasn’t made a final decision on its vote and was still in negotiations.

While Renault understands Nissan’s desire to improve its governance, the so-called three board level committees system “should not serve as a tool directed or used against Nissan’s largest shareholder,” the letter said.

Nissan has long complained that the partnership with Renault is unbalanced, and that the French Government’s outsize role at Renault, with board representation and extra voting rights, gives the state undue influence over the Japanese carmaker.

Nissan owns a 15 percent stake in Renault, but with no voting rights, and has been seeking more power in the partnership rather than the “closer ties” sought openly by the French state and pursued first by Ghosn and later by Senard.

(SD-Agencies)