The Shocking Assassination of a CEO Who Cut 21,000 Jobs: A Cautionary Tale from Renault

The Tragic End of Georges Besse

On November 19, 1986, Georges Besse, the head of the famous French car company Renault, was shot dead on the pavement outside his home in a crime that shocked the nation. He had just stepped out from his chauffeur-driven car when two assassins on a motorbike pulled up and shot him several times. Besse fell to the pavement, fatally hit, as one of his young children watched from an upstairs window.

Georges Besse made French car giant Renault profitable again but also decided to cut 21,000 jobs. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File) (AP)

The Investigation and Motive

Initially, no person or group admitted carrying out the assassination, but French police suspected a feared anarchist terrorist network known as Action Direct. They had already shown their readiness to kill to achieve their goals by shooting dead a top French defence official and carrying out bombings at government buildings just months earlier.

Three months after Besse's killing, authorities received letters from Action Direct saying they had carried out the murder. The documents stated that the killing of Besse was in retaliation for the sweeping job cuts at Renault overseen by him.

Besse's Turnaround Strategy at Renault

Besse had been appointed to the famous but ailing French company to turn around poor sales and drive up efficiency. He was able to return Renault to profit, but to achieve that, he closed several factories and made 21,000 workers redundant in his first 18 months as boss. The sweeping staff cuts left trade unions and left-wing political groups in France furious.

Critics of Besse were also angered by his move to invest Renault money overseas—in the American Motors vehicle company, which was losing money.

French police raided this remote farmhouse in the hunt for the killers of Georges Besse. (public domain)

Arrests and Sentencing

In March 1987, police were given a lead over the Besse killing and raided an isolated farmhouse in France, arresting four members of Action Direct. Two of them—Nathalie Menigon and Joelle Aubron—were charged with murdering the Renault boss.

French police arrested four Action Direct members over the Georges Besse killing. From left: Jean-Marc Rouillan, Nathalie Menigon, Joelle Aubron and Georges Cipriani. (public domain)

The two women were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1989. Two other Action Directe members, Jean-Marc Rouillan and Georges Cipriani, were also handed life sentences after being convicted as accomplices. Aubron was released from prison in 2004, and Menigon was freed four years later.