PARIS -- French budget minister Gerald Darmanin said he hoped the door had "not closed" on the possibility of a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Renault and added France would be happy to re-examine any new proposal from FCA.
"Talks could resume at some time in the future," Darmanin told FranceInfo radio on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, Fiat Chrysler said it had abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker.
FCA said the "political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully."
France's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said on Thursday that the French government had engaged constructively but failed to win the support of Renault's Japanese partner, Nissan.
"An agreement had been reached on three of the four conditions. What remained to be obtained was the explicit support of Nissan," Le Maire said.
France's four conditions were:
- Respecting Renault's existing alliance with Nissan
- Keeping jobs in France
- Forming a balanced corporate governance structure between Renault and FCA
- Ensuring the new company commit to developing electric batteries along with Germany.
French government officials had pushed for Nissan to support the merger. Nissan had said it would abstain.
Renault said its board was "unable to take a decision due to the request expressed by the representatives of the French state to postpone the vote to a later meeting."
Le Maire said Renault remained well placed in the auto sector and well-positioned to tackle challenges such as developing electric vehicles and reducing emissions.
The French government is Renault's largest shareholder with a 15 percent stake.
