French government sells Renault shares

The French government has lowered its stake in Renault, but the giant car-maker hasn’t become less French.

Now the world’s biggest car-maker by volume (thanks to its alliances with Nissan and Mitsubishi), Renault intends to buy back the government’s shares and distribute them among its employees.

The government, which had been the biggest shareholder in the company, has lowered its stake from 19.73 to 15 per cent, reaping more than $US1.5 billion in the process.

While it had long held 15 per cent of Renault, it bumped its stake up to 19.73 per cent to cover off a change in long-term shareholder voting rights.

That change happened when Emmanuel Macron was France’s economy minister. The sell-off happened after he rose to the Presidency.