"Each additional week of confinement has an impact on our growth." Tuesday morning, Bruno Le Maire held an online press conference to take stock of the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic on the French economy. He specified the modalities of a battery of measures taken by the State to come to the aid of the businesses affected. Comparing the current health crisis to the great economic crisis of 1929, he put aside the idea of a "rapid rebound" at the end of the epidemic, explaining that he did not believe in a sudden "magic wand". "We will have to think about support mechanisms" at European level to support the recovery, he said. But for the moment, the government is dealing with the most urgent.
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Facilitate the granting of "Macron bonuses"
Bruno Le Maire first encourages companies to reward employees who continue to visit their workplaces every day. The government will facilitate the granting of the so-called Macron bonus, a tax-free bonus granted after the "yellow vests" crisis. In companies with fewer than 250 employees, Bruno Le Maire announced that it would no longer be subject to a profit-sharing agreement. He also launched an appeal to companies: be careful for the moment to limit shareholders' dividends in order to favor employees.
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Upward funding for partial unemployment
For those who cannot go to work, partial activity surges every day: 730,000 employees are already affected. The cost of the measure is already 2.2 billion euros, said the minister adding: "We have provisioned 8.5 billion euros, it will be more." By funding the partial unemployment of employees forced to stop, the State aims to save jobs in the event of a temporary drop in activity.
State guaranteed loans for companies in difficulty
The government also said Tuesday morning the new system of loans guaranteed by the state for all companies in difficulty. "It is a simple, massive and unprecedented device, set up in a few days by the State, the banks and with the support of the BPI. The idea is to offer all businesses three months of turnover business without reimbursement for one year, and with the possibility of spreading reimbursement thereafter for up to five years ", explains Thierry Laborde, deputy managing director of BNP Paribas, at the microphone of Europe 1. Which specifies:" Regarding BNP, this will be at a rate of 0.25% for companies whose turnover is less than 50 million euros, and 0.50% beyond. "
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All French companies will be entitled to it. "There will be something for everyone, there will be no rationing. But we will treat the companies most in difficulty as a priority," says Thierry Laborde. Everything is done to make it quick and easy. But beware of bad payers and fraudsters ... Companies caught in default in terms of payment from their suppliers will not be entitled to it.
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