That may be true back in the early 1980's for your statement, but this is 2005, not 1982! The current Renault model line is actually quite successful all over Europe, and the current Scenic "tall wagon" has been selling like crazy all over Europe. By the way, you can stop laughing because Renault owns 49% of Nissan and much Renault technology will go into Nissan's next-generation models (the next-generation Sentra will borrow some platform technology from the Clio compact car now sold in Europe).
I just got back from the UK and Ireland and the number of French cars there, Renault, Citroen, etc, was really amazing. Saw more in a day over there than a year here.