In an interview with the "Sunday newspaper", the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire announces several avenues to save businesses affected by the repercussions of confinement linked to the coronavirus pandemic. 300 billion euros in bank loans will be guaranteed, while for strategic companies, "last resort" nationalizations cannot be ruled out.

While many companies can not operate normally due to confinement, Bruno Le Maire said in an interview with the Journal du dimanche that the state will provide "the necessary financial means as long as the crisis lasts", to avoid "a sinking "of the economy linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. "I prefer that we go into debt today, avoiding a shipwreck, rather than let whole swathes of our economy be destroyed," he said.

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€ 300 billion in guaranteed bank loans

According to the minister, "over eight days, 20 billion euros in loans" guaranteed by the state were "requested by more than 100,000 companies". To help companies overcome the shock of containment, the state announced that it would guarantee up to 300 billion euros in bank loans, the equivalent of 15% of French gross domestic product (GDP).

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In addition, five million employees benefit from partial unemployment and "in three days, 450,000 small businesses have applied for the solidarity fund," said Bruno Le Maire, adding that these systems "will be replenished as necessary". The solidarity fund set up by the State provides 1,500 euros maximum compensation for small businesses having suffered at least 50% drop in turnover compared to March and April 2019, plus aid of 2,000 euros granted on a case-by-case basis for those threatened with bankruptcy.

"As a last resort, nationalization" to help strategic companies

Asked about the situation of Air France, he said he had sent Emmanuel Macron and Edouard Philippe "a list of some twenty weakened strategic companies and solutions to help them: loan guarantees, capital increase, recapitalization, and , as a last resort, nationalization ".

He recalled that "none of the big companies that appeal to the State for their cash will have to pay a dividend" and invited the other big companies "to reduce by at least a third the payment of dividends in 2020". And he also called on executives to "make an effort" by lowering their wages when workers who are unemployed receive only 84% of their net earnings. Bruno Le Maire said that he had written to all companies in which the State had a stake, and had received "positive responses from the presidents of Air France and Safran.