(Adds result of vote)
PARIS, April 30 (Reuters) - The French government will increase its influence at Renault after shareholders failed to block a change in voting rights which the carmaker has said could damage its alliance with Japan's Nissan.
At an investors' meeting on Thursday, 60.5 percent of voting Renault shareholders supported a motion that would have prevented the French state from increasing its say.
However, that was short of the two-thirds majority required to stop the government from taking advantage of a new law that doubles voting rights for long-term investors.
Prior to the vote, the government had increased its stake in Renault to almost 20 percent, boosting its chances of prevailing in the decision.
It has said it wants to safeguard French interests at Renault, which is deepening its ties with Nissan. However, Renault has warned that the government's move could damage the alliance.
Renault owns 43.4 percent of Nissan. Nissan in turn holds 15 percent of Renault, but does not have any voting rights associated with its stake because it is deemed to be under its alliance partner's control - already a sore point in Tokyo.
Since Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy in 1999, the Japanese carmaker has outgrown its parent to account for two-thirds of their combined 8 million vehicle sales and a bigger share of profit.
Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has sparked some unease in Paris, as three of his four alliance-wide operational chiefs are Nissan executives. (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Writing by Mark Potter; Editing by Jane Merriman and David Stamp)