Faced with accusations of protectionism from other members of the European Union, France insists its five-year, 6% loans are for investing in clean technology.
However, in exchange for the loans, the companies have pledged to keep their French factories open, protect domes¬tic jobs and refrain from moving production abroad. The European Commission says it will examine France’s plan closely to make sure it doesn’t put other automakers at a competitive disadvantage.
The loan granted by the French government will help Renault and PSA to withstand the crisis and, notably, finance their strategic projects in France, particularly the development of vehicles with ultra-low or zero CO2 emissions.
