Can a country such as France still afford two volume car manufacturers? The answer should be No but, as everybody knows after automobile bail-outs around the world, cars are highly political.

French governments in the past have toyed with the idea of encouraging Renault, in which the state owns a big stake, and the family-controlled Peugeot-Citroën group to merge. But no politician has been brave enough to push the idea given the extreme social disruption a combination might provoke – not to mention the fiercely independent character of the Peugeot family and the traditional rivalry between the two groups.