"It is not in our interest at all to weaken this alliance," Le Maire told Europe 1 radio. The French government is Renault's biggest shareholder with a 15% stake.

Asked to comment on media reports that Fiat's top executive had been in Paris over the weekend, Le Maire replied: "It poses me no problems at all if the head of Fiat were to spend his time in Paris."

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by David Goodman)