Hi Jenna
I had the same thing on my 1998 2 litre megane convertible. I think its something to do with disabling the Cat 2 alarm. Anyway you can manually lower the hood. Undo the handle and push the hood up as you would normally. Get out of the car and lift the rear section of the hood so that its verticle upright. It should automatically release the compartment cover which can then be lifted up. Watch out its heavy.
You will then be able to fold the hood into its compartment. If your motors working it will do this aswell but remember to hold the compartment lid up. Close compartment as usual.
These instructions are also downloadable from the Renault web site under owners manuals in pdf format.
I hope this helps.
Dawn
June 2008