Paris (AFP)

The Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire warned Thursday before the National Assembly that the coronavirus crisis threatened the very existence of the euro zone and "the political future of our continent".

"Either the euro zone reacts in a united way to the economic crisis and it will emerge stronger, or it reacts in a dispersed order and it risks disappearing. Our responsibility therefore goes beyond economic and financial questions alone. So is the political future of our continent ", he declared before some deputies, at the opening of the debates on the amending finance bill.

The minister welcomed the decisions taken so far, from the 1,000 billion euros in loan guarantees from euro area countries, to the asset purchase program announced by the European Central Bank.

According to him, "the current crisis cruelly shows our weaknesses and our dependencies" and "in many strategic industrial sectors, for example the drug, we are too dependent on supplies in Asia". "We must rethink globalization in terms of the principle of sovereignty," he insisted.

The draft amending budget presented establishes a state guarantee for bank loans granted to businesses up to 300 billion euros. Combined with an emergency bill which will be examined on Friday, it provides an immediate arsenal of 45 billion euros to support businesses in difficulty and partial unemployment of employees, including 32 billion postponement or even cancellation of charges.

"Providers and suppliers must be paid on time. Some companies consider themselves exempt from paying their bills because of the health crisis we are experiencing. This is unacceptable and dangerous for thousands of small businesses. and medium-sized service providers, "noted Mr. Le Maire, demanding compliance with the rules.

"We have entered an economic and financial war. This war will be long. This war will have a cost, which we cannot fully estimate as I speak to you," insisted Mr. Le Maire, while the bill already forecasts a 1% drop in GDP.

The Minister finally applauded "all these workers who ensure the economic continuity of our Nation".

© 2020 AFP