Renault’s behaviour is outrageous

Volkswagen brought national shame on Germany when it was found to have cheated on diesel emissions, says David Carzon. Now Renault is doing the same for France. The carmaker is under judicial investigation after France’s anti-fraud agency found it was using secret devices to give false readings in lab emission tests – and may have been doing so for 25 years. At least when VW was outed, it took steps to make amends, paying as much as $20bn in compensation and fines. By contrast, Renault’s directors say they’re “confident” the judicial investigation will exonerate them – despite the “overwhelming” evidence against them – and see no need to set money aside to cover possible claims. The complacency is staggering. Renault is like François Fillon, the Right’s presidential candidate, who allegedly paid his wife for a fictitious job with taxpayers’ money, and who likewise insists he did nothing wrong. Both seem to think they’re accountable to no one but the judicial authorities, forgetting the terrible damage they’re doing to France’s reputation. One hates to say it, but there’s “something very French” about the attitude that if accused of wrongdoing, one can tough it out, and that moral questions will “fade away” as long as one pays them no attention.