France orders recall of Firestone tires

PARIS (Reuters) -- France has ordered the recall of around 2,000 Firestone tyres in the wake of a probe linking the tyres to some 88 deaths in the United States.

The U.S. government probe prompted Firestone, owned by Japanese tyremaker Bridgestone Corp., to announce on August 9 the voluntary recall of 6.5 million of its tyres.

MESSAGE BOARD Product safety

The action came amid mounting reports that certain tyres can shred and cause deadly accidents.

But the French transport ministry said in a statement that very few French consumers had returned the tyres in question -- most of which are on Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. disclosed on Friday that it had agreed to cover some of the costs of the tyre recall, which has already led to close to 100 lawsuits against the auto-maker.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Bridgestone Firestone
French Government

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