French government calls for Renault board meeting to replace Ghosn

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday the government had called for a Renault board meeting in the coming days to replace the company`s scandal-hit chairman and Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn.

The company needs a new durable governance, Le Maire said in an interview with French TV station LCI, confirming an earlier Reuters report that the government wanted a change at the helm of the company.

"We have to move to a new step," he added.

The French government, Renault`s biggest shareholder, had until now supported the company`s decision to keep Ghosn in office while he awaits trial in Japan for alleged misconduct at Nissan , the French carmaker`s alliance partner which he also chaired until his dismissal in November.

Two top Renault officials were appointed as acting CEO and acting chairman shortly after Ghosn was detained, but he had kept the nominal titles.

The French move to replace Ghosn follows a decision by the Tokyo District Court earlier on Tuesday to deny the ousted chairman`s request for release on bail.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)