[1] By 1915, with most teachers conscripted, René left school and started work, first as a farmhand and later in factories, eventually making his way to Paris.

[2] In 1925 he joined the Navy "to see the oceans", where a sadistic officer made him dive into a shallow pool, causing him a back injury which was to trouble him for the rest of his life.

His life really began to change soon thereafter when his sister asked René to come assist her in running the small garage which had become her responsibility after her husband's recent death.

The founder's 21-year-old son, Charles Deutsch continued to work for Bonnet and the two were to develop a long and fruitful collaboration.

As a result of this, Automobiles René Bonnet came into financial trouble and he was forced to sell the company to its supplier Matra in October 1964.