PARIS — Renault said Thursday it was unable to make a decision on Fiat Chrysler’s merger offer because the French government asked for a delay.

The French carmaker made the announcement after a board meeting outside Paris — the day after a similar meeting was also inconclusive.

Earlier, a person briefed on the matter said Fiat Chrysler and the French government had reached a tentative deal Wednesday on terms for the potential merger with Renault.

The person said the deal was a good sign for the merger plan, but no guarantee it would be approved.

A merger would create the world’s No. 3 car company after Volkswagen and Toyota, and could reshape the industry as carmakers race to make electric and autonomous vehicles.

Fiat Chrysler has proposed merging with Renault to create a company worth almost $40 billion that would produce some 8.7 million vehicles a year.

The French government owns 15 percent of Renault and is seeking job and investment assurances, a seat on the merged entity’s board, and for operational headquarters of the merged company to be in France.

The government wouldn’t comment on the delay or the tentative deal.

A Renault employee familiar with the discussions said the board was moving in the direction of a deal Wednesday night, but provided no details. Earlier Wednesday, France’s finance minister said the car companies shouldn’t rush into a merger.

The negotiations come as the French government is struggling to contain fallout from new job cuts announced by General Electric in France.

Renault’s powerful CGT union is against a Fiat Chrysler merger, fearing the loss of jobs and arguing the proposal undervalues Renault and bails out Fiat.