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French car makers Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroen have come a step closer to securing a €6billion (£5.6bn) loan from the French government to help bolster the country’s struggling manufacturing industry.

French prime minister Francois Fillon announced that his government was considering the loan and would provide “a massive response on the automobile sector's financing”, but would only do so if manufacturers were to guarantee jobs. Car production currently accounts for around 10 per cent ...Read the full article

What exactly will the EU make of this? I seem to remember them launching an investigation when BMW obtained a grant for Rover from the UK government a few years back...

French do whatever they like and they don't care what the EU says about it. The EU wants competition in the energy sector - so the government owned (basically) EDF have a monopoly. The French are protectionist and always will be. They couldn't care less about the EU unless the EU is giving their farmers money.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the French government own a decent sized chunk of the french car industry?

At least they see fit to protect their own interests, which is more than the British government ever did. Also the French public seem to be jingoistic, in a positive sense, in terms of their car buying habits.

Were it not too late, the British government, and car buying public could have learned from this. For example, had BMW not pulled the plug, sorry ripped the rug, from under Rover, the "Mini" could have been a truly British car.

Like I said, too late... But not, it would seem, for the French...

theonlydt:

French do whatever they like and they don't care what the EU says about it

The French, I love them, they row their own boat when it comes to commerce and they ALWAYS look after their own and why shouldn't they ?

They are and always have been rather good at using the EU for what they can get out of it and then when the EU or others start attacking them, they close ranks.

If generations of UK car manufacturers, past & present UK governments and most importnatly of all, the UK population had possessed even a fraction of the nationalistic pride that the French have, the UK would be a far healthier commercial place to live!

I suppose that is why I left England a goodly few years ago to live permanently in France.

jskater:

For example, had BMW not pulled the plug, sorry ripped the rug, from under Rover, the "Mini" could have been a truly British car.

BMW put a lot of effort in to Rover, a huge effort.   If they hadn't we would have Mini or Land Rover here today.   Nobody else was rushing to the rescue of Rover, and even BMW couldn't turn around the company.   Consider how bad a shape Rover must have been in if one of the most successful car companies in the world couldn't put it right!

As for Citroen / Peugeot, as long as they are there for Seb Loeb to keep in the WRC that's all that matters!   Actually, I do like the French cars because they're different from everbody else's offerings.