Renault is returning to the presidential garage. For the July 14 parade, Emmanuel Macron arrived on Avenue Friedland from the Elysée Palace aboard a Renault Rafale, the flagship of the manufacturer’s SUV range. The vehicle thus becomes “the official car of the Presidency of the Republic,” Renault said in a statement.
Presented in 2023, the Renault Rafale is a 4.71-metre coupé SUV. Designed at Renault’s design centre in Guyancourt and manufactured in Spain, the vehicle made available to the Head of State is a “unique creation” that has undergone “specific adaptations” to meet “the requirements of the presidential role”, assures the manufacturer.
It is distinguished in particular “by the ‘Night Blue’ body colour, a grille decorated with a gradient tricolour flag, removable flag holders, blue, white and red wing badges on the front doors, as well as specific 20-inch wheels,” Renault continues.
Renault and the Elysée, a story that endures
Renault has owned the “Rafale” brand since 1936. But this name is also used by Dassault’s famous fighter plane as part of a “coexistence” agreement. As a nod, it was at the Le Bourget Air Show that the manufacturer presented its vehicle for the first time in June 2023.
By re-equipping the Élysée, Renault is replacing the Citroën DS, the official car since 2017, and is continuing its history which began with the Presidency of the Republic in 1920. At the time, the various heads of state (Paul Deschanel, Alexandre Millerand and Gaston Doumergue) borrowed a Renault 40CV, which remained in service until 1928. “Since then, no less than 12 Presidents of the Republic have chosen a Renault for their official trips. The last of this long series, a Renault Espace V, was made available to the Élysée in 2016,” concludes Renault.
Source: BFM TV
