Le Maire made the comment in Tokyo, where he is visiting after a weekend meeting of G20 finance officials in Fukuoka. His visit comes amid strained ties between Renault and its partner, Nissan Motor.

"A merger with FCA remains a beautiful opportunity, because there's access to the American market and because for FCA there's access to the electric technologies they need," he said, adding that "nothing has changed for the French state" regarding the merger conditions it had previously set.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Stocks treated in this article : Renault, Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles