Ghosn's wife will appeal to the French government to help the former boss of Nissan

The wife of Carlos Ghosn went to Paris by plane to put pressure on the French government so that he intervenes and helps her husband while the former president of Nissan begins a period of detention in isolation in Tokyo.

In an interview with The Financial Times just hours before flying to Japan on Friday night, Carole Ghosn said her previous 108 – day imprisonment had left her "a different person" and that she "s just like her. a normal life on bail had been impossible.

"I think the French government should do more for it. I do not think they have done enough. I do not think he has had enough support and is calling for help. As a French citizen, this should be a right, "said Ms. Ghosn, echoing the call for help launched by her husband during an interview with French television reporters last week.

The Ghosn family's efforts to bring the administration of President Emmanuel Macron deeper into the Nissan-Renault imbroglio follow the arrest of Mr. Ghosn by Japanese prosecutors last week – a very unusual gesture that seemed to knock out Mr. Ghosn's legal team and revived critics of the Japanese judicial system.

Mr Ghosn had been released on bail in early March and had been living in recent weeks under strict conditions that prevented him from using the Internet, except in his lawyer's office. He and his visiting family members were subjected to constant surveillance by prosecutors and the media. While rumors of Ghosn's impending arrest began to develop last week, her husband's Ghosn said, "you could see the fear in her eyes."

"He did not have energy. He told me how he jumped out of bed, but now he is exhausted all the time, "said Ms. Ghosn.

The arrest relates to allegations that Mr Ghosn had developed a mechanism whereby part of the payments made by a Nissan subsidiary to an Omani dealer would be in expenses directly benefiting him. former president and his family.

Mr. Ghosn denied all charges against him.

Renault also alerted French prosecutors last week of about 10 million euros of allegedly suspect payments to the same Omani distributor, according to people close to the investigation. French public opinion has evolved, with the French automaker also accusing its former boss of "dubious and covert practices" and violation of the company's ethics.

The arrest of Ghosn – the fourth since last November – follows what his wife described as a "devastating" night raid in the couple's apartment in central Tokyo last Thursday.

In addition to conducting humiliating bodily searches, watching them shower and seizing laptops, phones and preparatory documents for her trial, prosecutors confiscated Ms. Ghosn's pbadport and mobile phones. Prosecutors asked her to accompany them to interrogate them, she said, but family lawyers told her to refuse.

Prosecutors did not, however, uncover Ms. Ghosn's US pbadport, creating what she saw as a narrow window to leave Japan and try to fight Mr. Ghosn's case through human rights groups. the man.

"I'm alone here. It's traumatic what happened, "Ghosn said during her last hours in Tokyo. "If my husband is in detention and I am here, I will not be useful. I'm going to France. . . and be more useful where I can be. "

The behavior of prosecutors and the revelation of the Japanese "hostage" justice system, where detainees are often detained until they confess, have drawn an uncomfortable international look at Japan as it prepares to host the G20 , the Rugby World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.

However, Ghosn's supporters acknowledged that calls for greater French government intervention would not likely lead to significant results, especially since MM. Ghosn and Macron had previously clashed about the future of the Renault-Nissan alliance.