Last month, Paul Hampel, a member of Alternative for Germany’s national governing board, called the deal a “sellout of German know-how.”<br />At a time when European unity is under threat, the sale of Opel to PSA could strain relations among Britain, France<br />and Germany as they try to ensure that any pain is imposed in someone else’s backyard.<br />“We see that there’s a similarity between the difficulties Opel is going through today and PSA’s situation three, four years ago.”<br />The French government would certainly balk if there were hints of further cuts by PSA in France.<br />To make the deal work, PSA will have to navigate elected officials<br />and labor leaders in three countries where it has big plants — Britain, France and Germany.<br />“The idea is that this deal makes a strong second to VW,” Mr. Herman said, “but they’ve got to make money.”<br />The two British plants, with the Opel and Vauxhall brands, could be particularly vulnerable to political and economic forces.<br />Peugeot Maker’s Deal for G. M.’s Opel Faces Political Headwinds -<br />By JACK EWINGMARCH 6, 2017<br />FRANKFURT — Turning a French carmaker and its German rival into a global auto giant would be tough under any circumstances.
