Bruno Le Maire: "recovery will be long, difficult and costly"

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French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire was the guest of RFI and France 24 this Friday at 8:30 am. He was interviewed live by Christophe Boisbouvier and Roselyne Febvre.

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To help businesses overcome the shock of containment, the state announced on March 31 that it would guarantee up to 300 billion euros in bank loans, equivalent to 15% of GDP. " This is a first step, said Bruno Le Maire this Friday morning, but we decided to do everything to save our economy, and avoid cascading bankruptcies and the millions of unemployed who register with Pôle Emploi. We have put a lot of public money, 45 million euros in aid, to avoid economic and social breakdown. The Minister of Economy assured to have " taken the measure of this crisis from the first day " and to be aware that the recovery would be " long, difficult and costly ".

As for the shortage of medical equipment, first of all tests and masks, " the main thing," he recalled, " is to provide as many people as possible with masks, with absolute priority for nursing staff. We find these masks in China, we have also greatly accelerated national production, and I salute all the manufacturers who have converted their production chains. It is a patriotic approach. "

" National economic sovereignty " and " European economic sovereignty "

Bruno Le Maire also insisted on “ national economic sovereignty ” and “ European economic sovereignty ”: “ There is an absolute need to rebuild certain value chains in France. We must strengthen the economic independence of our country. "

" If Europe is not faithful to its historical roots, " he insisted, " if it does not show human solidarity and if it does not put it before any economic or financial consideration, it will not will not come under it. We are at a crossroads: either we continue and we show our solidarity, in a very concrete way, to the countries affected by the coronavirus, or we return to national egoisms, and Europe will disappear. "

The Minister for the Economy called for using the European stability mechanism, set up after the 2008 crisis, to release the funds of the European Bank and the European partial unemployment mechanism, as well as the creation of a response funds to the consequences of the economic crisis, financed by allocations from countries or a specific solidarity tax, in order to revive European economies. “ The European solidarity mechanism is 240 billion euros, it's already a very large sum: afterwards, it will be for each State according to needs. "

" It is better to go into debt today and have the financial means at your disposal, rather than let our economy collapse. The recovery of the economy, in France as in Europe, will be costly. "

A debt moratorium for African countries?

Bruno Le Maire had called on Thursday to " avoid a drama " in developing countries and, in particular, in Africa, and proposed measures such as " a moratorium " on debt. Remarks reiterated this morning on RFI, where he said he was " worried about the violence with which this crisis will hit African countries. " " Within the framework of the G20, he said, I called for total solidarity ".

As for the deferral of charges in France, “ we will carry forward the social and fiscal charges as long as the health crisis lasts, promised the Minister of Finance. There is a desire to protect as much as possible, but also a concern for consistency and continuity. We will not stop the device when the economy has not restarted. "

Regarding nationalizations, the Minister of Finance said he had transmitted " a list of companies " weakened by the crisis to President Emmanuel Macron. “ It is a question of having the State which protects, for a limited period, companies by possibly making temporary nationalizations, because the State does not have vocation to direct companies of the commercial sector instead of the entrepreneurs. "

He warned again that the crisis would be " long and lasting ", but that the government would " fight to protect, as much as possible, the jobs of employees ".

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