Paris (AFP)

The leaders and footballers of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 have sealed an agreement calling for a "temporary" drop in wages to preserve the clubs 'cash flow in the face of the health crisis, we learned from the players' union on Tuesday (UNFP).

"We validated the recommendation this morning," confirmed to AFP Philippe Piat, the president of the UNFP. "The idea is that the players defer part of their April salaries to allow the clubs to get by," he added, advocating a "temporary effort" in the face of "a sanitary situation. dramatic "because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After a meeting with the Ministry of the Economy on Tuesday morning to settle final details, the representatives of the clubs and the players sealed a joint "recommendation" according to which the footballers accept a temporary reduction of wages, which they will touch at the moment the payment of television rights, currently frozen by the broadcasters Canal + and BeIn Sports, detailed the leader of the UNFP, confirming information from the daily newspapers Le Monde and L'Equipe.

This temporary reduction, which is added to the savings already obtained thanks to the partial activity device set up by the government and activated by many clubs, will be calculated on the basis of a progressive scale, he further developed, with installments according to the level of salary received.

Players receiving less than 10,000 euros as part of the partial activity, or 70% of their gross monthly salary, will not be affected by this device. Beyond that, four installments will be put in place: 20% less remuneration in April for players earning between 10,000 and 20,000 euros; 30%, for those between 20,000 and 50,000 euros; 40%, for those between 50,000 and 100,000; and finally 50% less for those receiving more than 100,000 euros per month.

However, this is a simple recommendation: under labor law, "we can not force anyone to join," said the head of the UNFP, adding that "a large majority will not go against "this agreement.

While the question of a drop in players' wages is agitating the whole of football Europe, which is currently stopped due to a pandemic, and in particular England, the subject does not generate any tension in France, where short-time working has constituted a first shock absorber for the clubs.

© 2020 AFP