Maybe, but there still would have been the worry that the star was scaring people away.

Also, I could be wrong but I thing the "Michelin starred food truck" and other cheaper starred restaurants are all outside France, in France there's still much more of a common standard that Michelin starred restaurants feel they need to live up to including experience and price.

And of course, it's much better to renounce the star than to lose it.

This. For example, I talked to the chef of the restaurant that won Le Fooding's best chef in 2017 about his older restaurant and there is a whole movement in France called bistronomie, which is all about serving great creative food, without the trapping of the luxury restaurant. That is no tablecloths, no hierarchy of waiters, just a bistrot, but with Michelin level food.

There’s also bib gourmand ratings in the same guide for exactly that, which is something like half a star. Less prestigious, but still an accomplishment. If he were starred and then started serving similar quality at the lower price point, I don’t see why they wouldn’t give him one, unless they consider the PR we are reading now a disqualifier for further consideration.

What are you thinking of as a cheap Michelin starred restaurant in France? It's important to be specific to the country; standards are different in different places. The French Michelin stars are still very hidebound by things like quality of flowers and number of extra service on the floor.

I was in Miyajima Japan recently and had a Michelin starred grilled sea eel lunch with a beer for 25 bucks.