Renault Chief Shot to Death on Paris Street

Georges Besse, president of the state-run Renault automobile company, was shot to death tonight near his home in Paris, officials said.

The 58-year-old Besse was felled by several gunshots about 8:25 p.m. on Boulevard Edgar Quinet, almost in front of his home.

The Agence France Presse news agency said Besse was shot by a man and a woman driving by in a car.

A witness who lives close to Besse’s home said on French radio that she heard several shots during dinner and that police arrived a few minutes later.

“I saw Besse lying on the pavement out front but saw no one else,” she said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting.

Renault is the majority owner of American Motors Corp.

Direct Action, which is believed to have split into hard-line and more moderate groups, has claimed up to a score of bomb attacks in the capital since the beginning of the year.

Most of the blasts have been targeted at companies or government offices the group accuses of working in NATO-related projects or with such countries as Israel and South Africa.