FILE PHOTO: Renault CEO Thierry Bollore attends the 89th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland March 5, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Renault's RENA.PA CEO Thierry Bollore denounced on Thursday as a "coup" his potential exit from the French carmaker, which has called a board meeting on Friday.

Thierry Bollore told Les Echos newspaper he was appealing to the key Renault shareholder, the French state, to avoid destabilizing Renault.

“The brutality and the totally unexpected character of what is happening are stupefying,” Bollore said.