World (AFP)

The economic world constitutes "the rear forces" in the fight against the epidemic linked to the coronavirus and the companies must "imperatively continue to produce" when possible, according to an appeal launched Friday by the Medef "to all the heads of companies from France ".

"In the war against this epidemic, the economic world represents the" rear forces ", those who must provide the caregivers with the means to lead the fight and all of our fellow citizens with the means of living", according to an open letter received by AFP.

For the first French employers' organization, the crisis "of unprecedented magnitude" represents "a challenge for our generation, perhaps as great as were the Spanish flu or the crisis of 1929".

"We must ensure the continuity of the activity in the vital fields of course, but also in all the related fields, since our economy is integrated and the sectors interdependent from each other", underlines the Medef while certain companies which do not not subject to a ban have decided to interrupt their activity to protect the health of their employees.

The letter signed by the president of Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux and the vice-president of the organization Patrick Martin explains that this continuity is necessary for economic and financial reasons, but "especially so as not to add to the health crisis a crisis of deficiency in the supply of our fellow citizens ".

It asks "in all the companies where it is possible, to examine without delay the adjustments necessary to the work stations to allow the health security of the employees and the continuation of the activity, in full safety and in the respect of the barrier gestures and distancing rules. "

Medef specifies that "these adjustments must be made in close consultation with the employee representative bodies (IRP)".

Finally, he calls on entrepreneurs to adopt a "united line of conduct among themselves, in particular in managing your contractual relationships between customers and suppliers", "so that those who are short of cash can benefit from the support of those who have it" .

In this context of a call for solidarity on the part of the bosses of the bosses, the business mediator, Pierre Pelouzet, was worried for his part about an increase in payment delays on the part of large groups towards SMEs, in an interview with the newspaper La Croix.

"Companies pay their bills and try to be accommodating while others are blocking all their payments. It is not possible, while the state is doing everything it can, by shifting contributions social, fiscal and guaranteeing credits ", estimated Mr. Pelouzet, raising" a cry of alarm ".

"We should not arrive at a situation where VSEs and SMEs are forced to go and ask for a loan because their customers do not pay them. It would be the world upside down," he said. he adds.

© 2020 AFP