Renault loan still not signed, site closures must be last resort: Le Maire

• French President Emmanuel Macron this week said that the government, which has a 15pc stake in Renault.

PARIS: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Thursday said that the government had yet to sign off on a planned 5 billion euro ($5.5 billion) loan for Renault , and that the carmaker's site closures and job cuts could only ever be a last resort.

"The closure of a site must only be a last resort," Le Maire told France 2 television.

French President Emmanuel Macron this week said that the government, which has a 15pc stake in Renault, would not sign off on the state loan until management and unions had concluded talks over the company's French workforce and sites.