By Gilles Guillaume and Makini Brice
PARIS, June 25 (Reuters)
The French government is facing a somewhat unusual and increasingly complex challenge related to vehicles equipped with dangerous Takata airbags. Imagine working, earning money, and spending it on a vehicle that, years later, you suddenly discover can pose a serious and even fatal risk to your safety. This is currently the situation for millions of people in France, and the government urgently needs to take immediate and decisive action to address it.
Government tightens safety net following fatality
France is ordering an extra 800,000 cars with Takata airbags to be taken off the road, two weeks after a woman died in the northeastern town of Reims from injuries related to a faulty airbag. The move is the latest twist in the auto industry’s biggest-ever product recall, eight years after the company at the centre of the crisis — Japan’s Takata Corp — filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Japan. This decision reflects France’s heightened commitment to public safety and preventing further unnecessary fatalities nationwide.
After her 2014 Citroen C3 was hit by a truck, the woman in Reims died after she was struck by a metal piece expelled by an airbag that was ejected from her car, the Reims prosecutor’s office said. Citing the incident, French transport minister Philippe Tabarot said late Tuesday that all cars with the technology should be recalled, no matter how old they were, emphasizing that no risk should be tolerated when human lives remain directly exposed to danger.
He also ordered all manufacturers to tell drivers in Corsica and other overseas departments to stop driving vehicles with the Takata airbags, whatever their production year, until they are repaired, and issued the same order for all cars with such equipment produced until 2011 in mainland France.
Expanded recall aims to cover overlooked risks
The government had previously said vehicles built between 1998 and 2019, from 30 brands, could potentially be recalled. According to a ministry estimate based on carmaker data, the expanded recall will bring the total to 2.5 million. Within that total, the ministry has doubled the number of compulsory recalls — or so-called “stop drive” orders — to 1.7 million.
The sharp increase in the number of vehicles subject to immobilization shows how France is moving beyond manufacturer-led efforts and applying state pressure to mitigate risk. By including older vehicles and prioritizing driver notifications, the ministry is emphasizing preventive action, even in cases where individual cars may not have shown any previous malfunction.
French government spokesperson Sophie Primas said the expanded recall was being undertaken out of an abundance of caution. Takata, which was mainly acquired by a Chinese-owned, U.S.-based company, said at the time of its bankruptcy filing that it had recalled or expected to recall about 125 million vehicles worldwide by 2019. Representatives for Takata’s new owner were not immediately available to comment.
France questions past recall failures amid ongoing Takata airbag crisis
Besides representing a firm response to a persistent risk, the French initiative raises questions about the effectiveness of previous recall campaigns and the role of governments in ensuring that industrial failures do not endanger drivers’ lives years after the companies involved have gone bankrupt. The case highlights how the effects of mismanaged corporate decisions can last for decades, requiring continued vigilance and coordinated action among governments, manufacturers, and consumers.
France’s decision to immobilize such a high number of vehicles represents one of the most aggressive responses to the Takata crisis. By prioritizing public safety and pressuring manufacturers for faster compliance, the government demonstrates a policy of zero tolerance for risks that arise from the lack of action on the part of both the population and companies.