A Renault board meeting is scheduled for 8:00 am (0600 GMT) on Monday.
A source close to the French government, which holds 15 percent of Renault, said the authorities have noted the reports but will be "vigilant on jobs, the impact on industry as a whole and the national interest."
Renault's current major partnership is with Japan's Nissan, in which it holds 43 percent.Nissan in turn owns 15 percent of its French partner Renault but the imbalance in the relationship has led to serious friction, highlighted by the arrest of former Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo.
The Wall Street Journal said the talks were "wide-ranging" and could include Renault and Fiat Chrysler "joining large portions of their businesses".Renault has pushed ahead in electric cars but is relatively weak in North America
Contacted by AFP, neither Renault nor Fiat would comment.
Nissan likely 'furious'
The Financial Times, quoting multiple people informed on the talks, said: "The agreement may ultimately lead the carmaker (Fiat-Chrysler) to join the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the future," if Nissan can be won over.
Such an alliance would be the world's biggest with estimated total production of some 16 million vehicles.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi combine currently makes around 10.8 million automobiles, compared with Germany's Volkswagen and Japan's Toyota, both on around 10.6 million.
However, the tie-up with FCA could make Renault much more powerful, potentially further upsetting the balance in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance where Ghosn was pushing for much more say before his downfall.
"The question now is 'what is the reaction of the Japanese going to be?" said one source close to the issue, suggesting they could be "furious."
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