Recovery plan: what will the 26 billion euros of the Caisse des Dépôts be used for?

INTERVIEW

"France Relance" is the name of the recovery plan for the French economy presented in early September by Jean Castex.

Of the 100 billion announced, 40 billion will come from the EU, but 26 will be direct funds from the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations spread over five years.

Shops, ecological and social transition ... Eric Lombard, its general manager, detailed Wednesday on Europe 1 the use that will be made of it.

Boost the city centers of medium-sized municipalities

"These are equity funds paid to companies, to semi-public companies, to revitalize the economy and the development of the country," Eric Lombard developed.

Of the 26 billion, 8.3 will be earmarked for businesses and the direct economy.

One part will notably aim to revitalize the city centers of 222 municipalities.

6,000 empty businesses will be bought, restored, and rented at preferential rates so that "the process of revitalizing cities continues".

"The businesses of our parents and grandparents were in fact small businesses. Today, if we want modern businesses, we need larger areas," noted the general manager.

"We must revitalize the city centers, we have allowed businesses to develop too much in the periphery," he continues.

Eric Lombard gives the example of Louviers, where the "city center has been redone", which has allowed people "to come back".

What is needed now, he explains, "is to keep them there, and for that we need businesses".

Work that will be funded by the State but the hand will be left to elected officials, via "business managers who ensure the balance between businesses", said Eric Lombard.

Support a social transition

The general manager of the Caisse des Dépôts also said he wanted the transition to be social.

"We are going to build and renovate 400 nursing homes", he said, recalling that funding for social cohesion also involves training.

"We launched 'My training account' with the government, and we will ensure that 100,000 young people have access to 100% funded training to enable them to quickly find a job."

>> Find Matthieu Belliard's interview in replay and podcast here 

Help with the ecological transition and invest in housing 

Finally, the Caisse des Dépôts also has the historical mission of collecting the French people's livret A, with the money from which social housing is financed.

Eric Lombard ensures that the money can "come out very quickly" to finance both the ecological transition and housing.

"It can go very quickly. Throughout the HLM sector, where there are 750 operators, for the thermal renovation of buildings, it is in progress! There are funds from the French savings booklet which will finance this renovation ", a renovation which is according to the director" a very good operation: it makes less carbon, protects the planet, and lowers the bill ".

Money that "goes directly into the pocket of tenants," he said.

"The money can go out quickly. As regards the savings of the French, it is the minister who gives the conditions of use of the funds. And we are really ready to go quickly".

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"Me, I say to elected officials who have projects, they come to see me", he concluded, stressing that 900 people of the Bank of the territories "are ready to listen to the projects and to finance them. We gave delegation to these officials so that the money comes out very quickly and that decisions are made locally. "