A woman watches President Macron's address on Sunday, June 14. - Vincent Loison

  • On Sunday, Emmanuel Macron mentioned in his speech a "productive pact" to "rebuild a strong, ecological, sovereign and united economy".
  • The project was actually already planned since April 2019. But when the pandemic hit France, the details of this plan were not yet known.
  • At the time, this pact already raised strong expectations from the unions as well as environmental defenders. Who call on the government to keep its commitments, or even to go further by pushing the sectors that create the most jobs and are most favorable to the ecological transition.

Last Sunday, Emmanuel Macron was particularly vague on his vision of rebuilding the economy. His ambivalent idea of ​​“working more” gave rise to various interpretations, from the increase in working time to jobs “for all” according to Bruno Le Maire's version. Another ambition, just as vast, appeared in his speech: that of a “strong, ecological, sovereign and united economy”, which would be served by a “productive pact”.

Still words, still words? The idea of ​​the "productive pact", in any case, does not come out of nowhere. Since last year, the government has been working on such a project, which bears exactly that name. And it is on this basis that the executive intends to rely to respond to the crisis, confirms Bercy to 20 Minutes .

Launched in April 2019, the "productive pact" was to be announced in April 2020, but has been swept away by the pandemic. The executive's objective was then to determine on which economic sectors to focus its investments in order to allow France to find new sources of growth in the coming years. And, in particular, reverse the trend of the country's “productive downgrading” and allow France to be in a position of strength in sectors of the future.

Ten priority sectors

In February 2020, a committee of experts produced a report in which it defined ten sectors to target as a priority: there are the fields of agriculture (agro-equipment, sustainable food, bio-control processes), health (health digital, biotherapies), energy (hydrogen, decarbonation of industry) and digital (quantum, cybersecurity). In addition, there are twelve other “emerging” markets requiring public support such as offshore wind power, photovoltaics, batteries for electric vehicles, recycling, etc. The government still had to formalize its choices.

But with the crisis, what about the government's plans? Sunday, Emmanuel Macron specified that he wanted to bet on "research, consolidation of sectors, attractiveness, even relocations" for the creation of "jobs of tomorrow", thanks to a "plan to modernize the country around the thermal renovation of our buildings, less polluting transport, support for green industries ”.

Priority to employment and relocation?

For Alain Chagnaud, consultant to Roland Berger, who has worked on the identification of priority sectors on behalf of the government and its committee of experts, this speech reflects a change. "The term" productive pact "referred more to the idea of ​​building an industry for the future. From now on, Bercy reuses the term to combine both a recovery and transformation logic while retaining this dimension of research for innovation. In the current context, they will dig into markets that were further down the list of priority sectors because they bring more job creation, "he deciphers, citing the case of the energy renovation of buildings mentioned by the head of state on Sunday.

With the theme of economic sovereignty, put forward from the beginning of the pandemic in China, other industries which were not included in the list of priority sectors attract more attention: this is the case of the drug, but also certain industrial goods required for assemblies in France and hitherto imported, as in the automotive industry (chassis, engines, tires, wheels, etc.) or electronics (raw materials, semiconductors, electronic cards, etc.).

What readjust the plans originally planned? For Philippe Portier, national secretary at the CFDT and responsible for economic policies, with the productive pact, "a more muscular employment component is absolutely necessary". This implies highlighting the “most easily creating” sectors of positions and compatible with a more ecological shift. This is the case of agriculture as of thermal renovation, where "there is no need for a machine to make insulation". But investment in more technological sectors should not be neglected either, innovation creating a need for “gray matter” providing jobs, he nuances.

More expenses and investments

The larger the investments, the more it will be possible to brew large. For Philippe Portier, the crisis has made it possible to reshuffle the cards "in a good way: Many billions have been spent and there we are in recovery. Paradoxically, we can still announce investments. It is now that we can act and not later, when we will have too many deficits, ”he believes. Because before the arrival of the pandemic, the government's budgetary room for maneuver was tight.

We are also waiting to see the truly “green” character of the productive pact. Managing Director of I4CE, a think tank dedicated to the economics of energy transition, Benoît Leguet believes that the “productive pact” pre-confinement version was serious. But in the absence of formalized arbitrations before the arrival of the pandemic, it remains to join words to actions. "The risk is that we say that the priority is to save businesses and not to rebuild the economy," worries this member of the High Council for the climate.

It calls for additional public expenditure of more than 7 billion euros per year in investments in sectors such as the renovation of buildings, low-carbon cars, transport infrastructure or renewable electricity… "In 2008, the environment was not a key focus of the recovery plan, ”he believes.

Production taxes: the fear of a blank check

Last detail which will be observed by the actors of the civil society: the counterparties which will be asked of the companies which also claim a reduction in their taxation, that is the other major component of the bouquet "productive pact". Unions such as Force Ouvrière or associations such as the Climate Action Network have been able to express their fears in this regard of seeing blank checks addressed to companies.

On February 20, BFM Business mentioned a “green” envelope in the form of tax cuts. But also a reduction in production taxes, this time without compensation. Behind this term are a large number of levies, including turnover taxes (C3S), which accrue to the State, value added (CVAE) and land (CFE), which are paid to communities territorial, for a total of 72 billion euros in 2016. For several years, companies have campaigned for their reduction, in order to gain competitiveness.

If nothing is officially announced for the moment on this subject, the government's recovery plan, expected for the start of the school year, will therefore not fail to react. “Production taxes are a real issue, because a company will have to pay them regardless of profits. But there are other things than the cost: the quality, the service, the way we organize ourselves to produce ... Rather than trying to overcome this cost problem, the increase in range seems more relevant to me " said Philippe Portier, of the CFDT.

"The problem is that these tax resources benefit local authorities, but we must also give them the means to make an economic recovery, especially since they are at the origin of most of the public procurement", also points Benoît Deguet.

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  • Emmanuel Macron
  • Recovery plan
  • Covid 19
  • Economic crisis
  • Economy