PARIS -- Renault has suspended production at one of its French factories, following a court order criticizing the way the automaker told unions about its increased protective measures put in place to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
Partial activity had resumed at the automaker's Sandouville plant at the end of last month after a six-week standstill due to the outbreak of the disease.
"All activity in the site of Sandouville has stopped as of May 7 and this will last until further notice," a Renault spokeswoman said, confirming an earlier AFP report.
Renault will appeal the judicial decision, the spokeswoman said.
The court order follows a case brought by the local section of the CGT union.
Another union criticized the CGT's decision to got to court.
"We have to stop these types of practices,” CFDT chief Laurent Berger said on France Inter radio station. "The reality is that the factory will remain closed on Monday and 700 temporary workers will be sent home. This isn’t a service to the workers."
The factory has a workforce of 1,900.
Renault has begun a gradual restart of its factories in Europe in recent weeks, including car assembly operations at another French site in Flins, near Paris.
"Activity in the Sandouville factory was halted as of May 7 in the afternoon and this will last until further notice," Renault said in a statement. A spokesperson added that no other legal cases are pending with relation to the coronavirus and workers’ return to work.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
