Renault nationalisation, state cash injection not on the table: chairman

PARIS (Reuters) – A further investment by the French government in Renault’s capital would not be the most pertinent or useful use of state resources, the carmaker’s chairman said on Thursday, adding that nationalisation of the firm was not being contemplated.

“I’ve said that it isn’t on the table,” Jean-Dominique Senard told a hearing in the lower house of the French parliament. “I have nothing against the state, I’m just saying that it’s not useful to spend taxpayer money to invest it in a company which needs to find its own resources.”

Renault is 15% owned by the French government. It tapped state aid to help cope with the coronavirus pandemic via a 5 billion euro ($5.69 billion) state-guaranteed loan.

(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Sarah White; editing by Jason Neely)