13

When it was announced in 1989 that the Billancourt factory was to close, who could have imagined that it would take more than ten years to devise a project capable of reconciling the various interests involved? It is certainly difficult to satisfy both the town's and the builder's budgetary restrictions while at the same time preserving the history and originality of the site. Up until 1993, the French government tried in vain to develop such a project, and finally left it up to Renault and the Boulogne city council to come to an agreement. However, Boulogne was not in a favourable political or financial position and Renault was in no hurry to sell. Things came to a standstill until 2000 when the Pinault Foundation announced its project. A local urban planning policy was adopted by all those involved in June 2003, testimony to the fact that the Foundation had really played the role of catalyst.