Paris (AFP)

The French manufacturer Renault plans to definitively stop automobile production at the Flins plant (Yvelines) which assembles the electric city car Zoe and the Nissan Micra, according to a source close to the file, partially confirming information from the Canard Enchaîné.

The diamond group must unveil on May 29 the outlines of a vast savings plan of 2 billion euros announced in February.

"Four factories would be closed in France: Choisy-le-Roi, Dieppe and the Foundries of Brittany, to start. The big piece - Flins (....) - will come later", says Le Canard Enchaîné, without citing a source .

In Flins, however, this is not a closure but the stoppage of automobile production to devote the site to another activity, told AFP a source familiar with the matter. A second source confirmed that the outright closure of the factory was not topical, without excluding that it was envisaged.

When questioned, Renault management declined to comment. Same silence at the Ministry of the Economy.

Inaugurated in 1952, the Flins-sur-Seine factory has seen around twenty emblematic models of the brand, including the Dauphine, the R4 and the R5.

Recently, it assembled the city cars Zoe (electric) and Micra (from the Nissan partner) with 2,600 employees. The site produced 160,000 vehicles last year, including Renault Clio, a model now fully outsourced to Turkey.

Struggling before the coronavirus crisis, which caused the car market to collapse, Renault had suffered its first losses in ten years last year.

The cessation of activity caused by the pandemic has only worsened the situation. The manufacturer saw its financial rating lowered in April to the rank of speculative investment by the agency Standard and Poor's.

The French government, Renault's largest shareholder with 15% of the capital, has agreed to come to the aid of the company by guaranteeing a bank loan of around 5 billion euros. The state-guaranteed loan, approved by the European Union, was close to being signed on Tuesday evening, a source said.

Acting director general Clotilde Delbos said at the end of April that this loan did not jeopardize Renault's savings plan or any job cuts, the only condition set by the government being the renunciation of dividends paid to shareholders this year.

- "No taboos" -

In February, the management had mentioned the possibility of closing sites in France and abroad when presenting the annual results. "We have no taboos and we do not rule out anything," said Delbos.

Renault, with its allies Nissan and Mitsubishi, is due to announce a strategic plan for the Franco-Japanese alliance on May 27, which provides for increased synergies. The idea is to entrust one of the companies with leadership for a given region or technology, on which the other partners should rely, in order to avoid duplicate developments.

The next day, Nissan must present its recovery plan at the same time as its 2019/20 annual results (ended March 31) expected in the red. Renault's economy plan is to follow a day later.

Contacted by AFP, the CFDT and the CGT of the diamond group said they had "no specific information" on this plan.

A central social and economic committee (CCSE) of Renault is scheduled for May 28 in the evening, then a board of directors, according to union sources.

In addition to Flins, concern also concerns the three other, smaller sites, 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.

"There are discussions. Nothing is set in stone," said a source familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity.

© 2020 AFP