A DECISION by French car maker Renault to stop production in Belgium is a kick in the teeth of the whole country, Belgian commentators said yesterday.

Renault said late on Thursday it would close its assembly plant at Vilvoorde, near Brussels, in July with a loss of 3,100 jobs as part of a wider reorganisation of production.

As Renault workers blockaded the doomed factory, holding finished cars hostage, newspaper reports held out little hope the decision would be reversed, focusing instead on possible implications for the whole of Belgium's car assembly business.

The prime minister, Mr Jean-Luc Dehaene, who lives In Vilvoorde and visited the plant for an awards ceremony just last weekend, said in a statement he was dismayed by the "brutal and unilateral decision of the French management of Renault". Renault is looking for another car maker to take over the plant, but a Renault spokeswoman said no talks had started.