On Europe 1, the president of the CPME François Asselin reacts to the remarks of the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire who opened the voice to a staggering or a partial cancellation of the debts of certain companies.

"This is a first step," he said, calling for the establishment of a "consolidation loan".

In the midst of the coronavirus epidemic, this measure could represent a breath of fresh air for many companies drowning in loans that they are unable to repay because of their lack of activity.

On Wednesday, on RMC / BFMTV, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire indicated that his ministry would propose "within a few weeks a consultation and conciliation device" to spread or partially cancel corporate debts on a case by case basis .

This announcement "is a first step that we welcome", reacts on Europe 1 François Asselin, president of the General Confederation of SMEs (CPME). 

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"This is the government's idea, so it's a first step. We welcome it, we support it, and we continue to work alongside Bruno Le Maire and his teams to go a little further and imagine what this famous consolidation loan could be that would prevent these companies from defaulting on payments, ”explains the president of the CPME.

"Because when it's like that, you can risk cascading bankruptcies."

On March 29, already on Europe 1, François Asselin called for the implementation of "a new financing tool to be able to spread, if possible, all debts, including the loan guaranteed by the State", in the form , therefore, of a consolidation loan.

"The idea is to bring together all of these debts and spread them out, if possible, over six to ten years," he explained at the time.

"A wall of debts that they cannot cross"

Companies, François Asselin recalls today, are all "each other's customers and suppliers, and some, which had a very viable economic model, find themselves facing a wall of debt that they cannot overcome". 

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This is why, he warns, "if we do not put specific measures to spread the debts of these companies, they will collapse even though they have a completely viable economic model if we allow them to spread out what 'they have accumulated in terms of debt ".