News that car maker Renault is considering pulling out of the Australian market has sparked concern that high-profile French firms are still feeling the effects of last year's boycott.
Renault officials said this week they would announce a decision before the end of the month, in the wake of figures showing sales of only 184 cars in Australia in the first six months of the year.
The poor performance comes as a surprise, given the perception that Franco-Australian trade had largely recovered from the boycott in protest at French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
The resumption of Bastille Bay celebrations in Sydney has also been taken as an indicator that the Australian public has dropped its year-long grudge against French organisations.
'Dust off the beret. Bring out the baguette. Toss out the placards. Bastille Day is back,' began one story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
