Action Directe Killed Renault Chairman Georges Besse in 1986 After 21,000 Layoffs
Updated
Updated · SlashGear · May 31
Action Directe Killed Renault Chairman Georges Besse in 1986 After 21,000 Layoffs
1 articles · Updated · SlashGear · May 31
Georges Besse’s 1986 assassination removed AMC’s strongest backer just as Renault was trying to stabilize the struggling U.S. automaker it had bought in 1980.
21,000 layoffs across France made Besse a target; French militant anarchist group Action Directe was identified three months later as carrying out the killing in retaliation.
Raymond Levy succeeded Besse at Renault and quickly reversed course on AMC, selling it to Chrysler in 1987 amid criticism of Renault’s heavy investment.
Jeep outlasted AMC because it was the company’s main profit source in the late 1970s, helping attract Renault and later becoming the core asset Chrysler kept.
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