"I am not certain that political interventions are necessarily the best way to help," said Le Maire, in response to calls by Ghosn's wife Carole for the French government and President Emmanuel Macron to do more to help Carlos Ghosn.

Japanese prosecutors last week took the highly unusual step of re-arresting Ghosn, who faces charges of financial misconduct which he denies.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Stocks treated in this article : Renault, MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION, Nissan Motor Co Ltd