Renault, who has just celebrated 100 years of motor racing, is at the very heart of the country’s social history. Nationalised after World War II, the company served for many decades as a «social laboratory» and as a test bed for the CGT trade union, with its close ties to the Communist party. In fact, observers of the day used to refer to Renault as the «workers’ citadel». Today, the company’s full privatisation is a key objective (the State still holds more than 45% of the capital) and a priority concern is to remain competitive in the global market.