In the industrial heartland of Normandy, more than 100km (62 miles) away from Paris, lies the small town of Cleon.
Home to fewer than 5,000 residents and a Renault factory, the town and its environs are a near-perfect reflection of the current state of France’s rust belt, where economic activity and jobs are dwindling – the factory’s workforce has shrunk from almost 5,000 to 3,124 in 10 years.
Yet the planned arrival of an assembly line from Chinese firm Shanghai E-Drive next year, in collaboration with Renault to produce EV motors, drew a mixed reaction.
While Renault hailed it as an example of the group’s dedication to the factory, some workers voiced concerns: the assembly line would create only a handful of jobs, they said, and its products could directly compete with the plant’s other wares, risking further unemployment.