Closing Factories the French Way: A Long, Painful Demise
- Renault considers future of French plants as part of cost plan
- Government has history of intervening to prevent shutdowns
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On purely business grounds, Renault SA could do without its plant in Maubeuge.
Like its sister factory, 75 kilometers (47 miles) away in Douai, the plant opened nearly half a century ago as part of a government effort to stem the decline of France’s northern industrial coal belt. Production at the two sites is now at just a fraction of their combined capacity.