AUTONEWS

"Renault is playing its survival", warns Bruno Le Maire 

"Renault is playing its survival" and must commit in particular to the maintenance in France of certain activities, warned Bruno Le Maire in an interview with Figaro published Thursday evening, stressing that he had not yet given the green light to a loan of 5 billion euros to the manufacturer in distress.
"This loan, I have not yet signed it," explained the Minister of the Economy, asking to the car manufacturers to commit on three points, including "the location in France of their technologically more advanced. "
Renault, French industrial flagship, finds itself in a very bad patch, having seen its factories and its commercial network paralyzed by the coronavirus crisis and confinements decided in particular in Europe, which dropped the new home market by 76.3% in April on the Old Continent. The diamond group was already weakened before this episode, having suffered in 2019 its first net loss in ten years .
New strategic plan
The French State, Renault's largest shareholder with 15% of the capital, has agreed to come to its aid by guaranteeing a bank loan of around 5 billion euros, which has been approved by the European Union . But it still has to be validated by Bruno Le Maire and a decree published in the Official Journal.
The group must present Friday, May 29, its new strategic plan, and has already estimated the necessary savings at 2 billion euros. This plan could include the closure of three medium-sized factories in France, as well as a reconversion of , the emblematic industrial installation of Flins , in the Yvelines, according to the Canard Enchaîné and a source close to the file.
If the builder did not comment on this information, it sparked outcry, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe warned Wednesday that the government would be "uncompromising" on the preservation of the sites. 

Support plan for the automobile industry
"We are continuing our discussions within the framework of the support plan for the automobile industry", specified Bruno Le Maire Thursday evening, revealing that this plan, awaited by the whole sector , would be announced next week by the President of the Republic.
In this context, "we ask manufacturers to make commitments in three directions: the electric vehicle, the respect of their subcontractors and the location in France of their most technologically advanced activities, "said the minister. "All the aid we provide to companies must be directed in these two directions: decarbonization of the French economy and improvement of its competitiveness," he continued. 

Three other sites threatened
Besides Flins, concern also concerns three other Renault sites, smaller, threatened according to the Canard Enchaîné. The Choisy-le-Roi (Val-de-Marne) factory employs 263 people in the repair of engines and gearboxes used as re-use parts.
That of Dieppe (Seine-Maritime) has 386 employees and assembles the Alpine A110 sports model, a sports coupe with high-end ambitions very little sold. The production rate had been reduced to 7 vehicles per day at the start of the year. Finally, the Brittany foundry in Caudan (Morbihan), produces cast iron parts for engines, chassis and gearboxes, with 385 employees.
Reopening of the Sandouville factory
The Renault factory in Sandouville , in Seine-maritime, reopened for the night of Thursday to Friday, two weeks after being sentenced for health measures deemed insufficient face at Covid-19, a recovery welcomed by FO but deplored by the CGT.
The factory had closed its doors on May 7 after the decision the same day of the judicial court of Le Havre seized by the CGT, first union of the site. He had condemned in interim management to suspend production, which did not "ensure (...) the safety of workers in the factory facing the risk associated with Covid-19". The site had partially resumed its activity on April 28 after having stopped it on March 16 because of the epidemic. 

Credit: © afp.com/ERIC PIERMONT