Souvenir store, shopping malls and airports, crafts, translators-interpreters: the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced on Monday that new sectors of activity would benefit from exemption from charges and partial unemployment .
"We are going to extend the benefits of the devices planned for tourism to a certain number of sectors, I am thinking in particular of souvenir and piety shops", declared the minister during a trip to Lourdes, a traditional place of religious pilgrimages, practically at a standstill due to the health measures put in place to fight the coronavirus epidemic.
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Souvenir and piety stores, shopping arcade shops, airport shops, translators-interpreters, crafts, auxiliary water transport services, sports betting and labels are affected by the measure.
They will be able to access the partial activity system until the end of the year, the solidarity fund until the end of the year, and exemption from social contributions for 4 months from the publication of the decree. Those whose turnover has fallen by at least 50% since 2019, will be able to receive aid of 1,500 euros per month.
Lourdes traders in difficulty
In Lourdes, he added, "the traders we met lost 80, 85% of turnover. For Lourdes, it is 70 to 80% less activity because foreign tourists, the pilgrims, are not there ".
"Here in Lourdes, it's a triple penalty, because we have very international clienteles, which correspond to 62% of overnight stays, often very seasonal, from April to October, and the pilgrims are seniors", added the secretary of State Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
The Minister Delegate for SMEs Alain Griset also took part in the trip to Lourdes, while the pilgrimage of August 15 looms, the main event of the year for the Marian city.