French prez to discuss Renault-Nissan with Japan’s Abe at G20-Elysee  

French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the Renault-Nissan alliance with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Friday, an Elysee official said.

The 19-year partnership between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co is facing its biggest test to date after the arrest this month of its larger-than-life leader, Carlos Ghosn, for suspected financial misconduct.

Ghosn's arrest, including for allegedly under-reporting his income, has triggered new attempts by Nissan to shake off what it considers Renault's outsized control of it, adding to problems at Macron's Elysee.

Ghosn, 64, has been detained in Tokyo since his November 19 arrest, and prosecutors are widely expected to seek a maximum 10-day extension of his detention. If the court approves, authorities will have to file charges by December 10 or arrest him on suspicion of fresh crimes to keep him in custody.

Ghosn's detention in Tokyo has left the Franco-Japanese auto alliance without a leader and an advocate for the French government, which has said it wants to retain the current capital structure. Renault controls Nissan through its 43 percent stake, while Nissan holds a non-voting 15 percent stake in its partner.

As economy minister, Macron had masterminded the French government's surprise increase of its Renault stake in 2015, raising alarm bells inside Nissan that the Elysee was out to wield more influence over the Japanese company.

Macron has requested a meeting with Abe at the G20 summit starting on Friday, the Mainichi reported. A Japanese government spokesman said nothing had been decided.

The auto alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp, for its part "emphatically reiterated" its commitment to the partnership on Thursday after executives met in Amsterdam for the first time since Ghosn's arrest.

A review of the capital structure was not discussed at the meeting, Mitsubishi Motors' CEO Osamu Masuko said.