Renault sent to criminal court in Paris for aggravated deception over diesel emissions

Court referral

On Monday 27 July 2026, Renault was ordered to stand trial before the Paris criminal court for aggravated deception, becoming the second automaker after Volkswagen to face criminal proceedings in France over the Dieselgate emissions scandal. The judicial order, issued on Friday 24 July and notified to the parties on Monday, follows the Paris prosecutor's formal request in June 2025. A procedural hearing to fix the trial dates is already scheduled for 1 April 2027, but the trial itself is not expected to begin for many months after that.

The allegations

According to the prosecution's submissions seen by AFP, Renault is suspected of having "specially calibrated" diesel vehicles meeting Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards and sold between 2009 and 2017. The calibration allegedly ensured the cars complied with emissions limits during official homologation tests but not under normal on-road conditions. The charge is aggravated because the excess nitrogen oxide emissions may have contributed to air pollution, "in particular favouring the appearance of respiratory diseases in humans." The prosecution argues this deception had a direct public health dimension.

Renault's defence

Renault immediately rejected the accusations. In a statement, the company said:

We will defend our innocence, the professionalism and the ethics of our 100,000 employees.

It maintained that all its vehicles had always been homologated in accordance with applicable French and European laws. Renault also highlighted that the order itself acknowledged the absence of fraudulent defeat devices.

The order recognises that Renault vehicles are not equipped with fraudulent devices for detecting the homologation cycle.

The carmaker further cited a recent ruling by the High Court of Justice in London, which dismissed all claims brought against it by foreign hedge funds. Renault described those funds as participating in the French proceedings "in the cynical hope of a financial gain."

The wider Dieselgate context

The Dieselgate scandal erupted in the United States in the mid-2010s when Volkswagen admitted to installing software on more than 11 million vehicles sold between 2009 and 2015 that reduced emissions readings during laboratory tests. In France, the authorities responded by ordering a series of tests on diesel vehicles in 2015-2016, while the DGCCRF consumer fraud agency launched its own investigation. Renault is now the second manufacturer after Volkswagen to be sent to trial in France. The Paris prosecutor has also requested that Peugeot-Citroën and Fiat Chrysler be referred to the criminal court, but the final decision on whether they will stand trial rests with the investigating judge. No date has been set for a ruling on those requests.

What happens next

The fixation hearing on 1 April 2027 will set the timetable for a trial that remains many months away. Renault's legal battle will unfold alongside the ongoing proceedings against other carmakers, ensuring that the Dieselgate affair continues to occupy the French justice system nearly a decade after the first investigations were opened.