Tuesday evening, a few hours after the presentation of the deconfinement plan by Édouard Philippe before the National Assembly, Medef and the CPME asked that the State finance partial unemployment beyond June 1. One in two employees is currently on short-time working, more than 10 million French people, an absolute record. In a press release, Medef "requests that the partial activity be extended beyond June 1 because many companies will not have returned to normal activity by this date".
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"If it is not for us to comment on the health strategy put in place by the government to contain the Covid-19 epidemic, it is clear that the conditions will not be met beyond May 11, allow the French economy to run at full speed, "said the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME). "The consequences will have to be drawn from it, in particular by maintaining the support measures for businesses. The possibility of resorting to partial unemployment will therefore have to go beyond June 1, for example," added the CPME.
"Cancel social and tax charges rather than postpone them"
If Medef "welcomes the gradual return to normal economic activity from May 11", it "warns" against "the risk of a sluggish economy which poses a threat to recovery and employment". The CPME is more severe: the Prime Minister "was not able to give us the visibility that we expected". "In a large number of sectors, economic models will be called into question. Companies will not be able to bear both the additional costs and the downturn in activity, accentuated by uncertainty," she warns.
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"If the reopening of non-food shops is good news, the health measures imposed will have a direct and indirect financial cost which will impact both their operating account and their turnover. In this context, cancel the social charges and tax rather than postpone it will undoubtedly be essential ", believes the CPME, joined on this point by artisans, traders and liberal professions grouped within the U2P.
The CPME also requests "clarifications" on the responsibilities of employers in the event of contamination of employees or customers whose origin is unknown.