Paris (AFP)

Donations of masks and medical equipment, funds offered to hospitals, reorientation of production, meals for caregivers ... French companies are increasing their commitments in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Mask donations

LVMH financed a "first delivery" of ten million masks, worth around five million euros, to healthcare staff. Part of it was transported from China by an Air France cargo plane chartered by Bolloré Logistics.

Kering has promised health services three million surgical masks and Bouygues one million. Airbus bought two million masks in China, mainly offered to the Spanish and French governments.

In the automotive industry, PSA donated nearly 400,000 masks and Renault 120,000 across Europe, Faurecia delivered 100,000 to hospitals in Colmar (east).

BNP Paribas has promised one and a half million masks to hospitals and Axa two million. Societe Generale donated some 300,000.

La Poste offered a million to the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Dassault Aviation 130,000 to regional health agencies and Auchan delivered 100,000 FFP2 masks to hospitals in Lille.

The Chinese Alibaba has announced that it will offer France "a million masks" as well as stocks of screening kits. Castorama and Brico Dépôt will donate 2.5 million pairs of disposable gloves, 5,000 masks and 40,000 pairs of protective glasses.

Manufacture of masks

According to figures from France Industrie, at least 40 companies in the textile sector have volunteered to manufacture protective masks - including French luxury houses Saint Laurent and Balenciaga and Italian Gucci (Kering group).

Hydroalcoholic gel

Cosmetic manufacturers are reorienting their production to make hydroalcoholic gels. L'Oréal launched with its brands La Roche-Posay and Garnier; LVMH ensures that it produces more than 50 tonnes of gel per week for hospitals on its sites (Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy); Hermès announces that it will give more than 30 tonnes of solution that it has produced.

The sugar groups Tereos and Cristal Union dedicate part of their production to the gel and alcohol used in its composition. Lips France, manufacturer of liquid for e-cigarettes, produces hydroalcoholic solutions.

Pernod-Ricard donated 70,000 liters of pure alcohol to the Cooper laboratory, allowing it to produce 80,000 liters of solution. He also promises to offer an additional 80,000 liters to hospitals. The Gray Goose (Bacardi) vodka brand will supply "29,000 liters of alcohol per day" to French gel manufacturers.

The Fer à Cheval soap factory is committed to producing 13,000 Marseille soaps for healthcare professionals.

Respirators, 3D printing

A consortium of Air Liquide, Schneider Electric, Valeo and PSA is to manufacture "by mid-May 10,000 respirators" for hospitals.

The National Center for Space Studies is developing prototypes, in particular "flow dividers" enabling up to three patients to be connected to the same ventilator.

Many companies want to use their 3D printing capabilities to manufacture equipment (protective visors, valves for respirators, etc.). This is the case of Airbus in Spain.

Decathlon wants to offer 30,000 adaptable diving masks on a respirator.

Cash donations

The Dassault family will donate 2 million euros to hospitals, and the Ipsen laboratory the same amount to the Institut Pasteur. Hermès promises 20 million euros for the AP-HP.

Axa finances the initiative of the Fund101 platform which collects patient data in 60 countries, and Axa's investment fund will allocate an additional 5 million euros to medical research.

The mutual insurer Macif has promised 1.25 million euros in funding through the AP-HP Foundation, and 2.5 million euros for emergency food aid (Restos du Coeur, Samu social, People Relief).

Generali France offers 3 million euros through the Fédération hospitalière de France.

Orange endows its foundation with 3 million euros for care actions and to provide essential equipment in the countries where it operates.

In France, PepsiCo promises "a million dollars" to support "frontline players", including La Croix Rouge.

Societe Generale promises more than 1.5 million euros to several organizations (Apprentis d'Auteuil, Emmaüs, Samu Social, Restos du Cœur, we still have the alliance carried by the Fondation de France, the AP-HP and the Institut Pasteur), within a "global solidarity program (...) which could reach 50 million euros".

The mutual insurer Covea offers 500,000 euros to the Foundation for Women (aid to victims of domestic violence) and the social protection group Malakoff Humanis an "emergency financial aid" of 2.5 million euros to support people disabled.

Carers transport

SNCF offers free service on TGV and Intercity trains for caregivers going to strengthen a hospital. In the Paris region, twenty bus shuttles reserved for hospital staff, nursing homes and private clinics are organized by Île-de-France Mobilités and RATP. In several cities, caregivers benefit from free TER and coaches.

The rental company ADA provides its utility vehicles free of charge to Parisian hospital teams - to which Renault offers up to 300 electric city cars ZOE.Free2Move, PSA's mobility subsidiary, makes vehicles available to hospitals in Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. Opel France does the same.

Uber does not charge hospital staff its commission and will offer "thousands" of trips. JCDecaux offers caregivers a one-year subscription to its self-service bicycle services.

Total distributes petrol vouchers for hospital carers, up to 50 million euros.

Meals for caregivers

In addition to great chefs preparing meals for caregivers, many SMEs in the food industry are involved in feeding hospital staff.

The Maurice cheese dairy offered 6,000 jars of yogurt, Carambar 400 kilos of chocolate bars at the hospital in Blois, Daunat (Brittany) delivered 165,000 sandwiches and salads to caregivers and firefighters. Many have given their stocks of blouses, masks or charlottes.

Nestlé France announced that it had offered hospitals "more than 2 million cups of coffee and chocolate drinks, nearly 2 tonnes of chocolate, 280,000 bottles of mineral water". For its part, PepsiCo France indicates that it has given 62,000 bottles of fruit juice and 116,000 packs of crisps to hospitals in the east of the country.

Housing

Accor provides certain hotels to house nursing staff or the homeless - at least 40 hotels are affected. Airbnb also intends to provide free or subsidized housing for caregivers.

The health professional insurer MACSF provides medical staff with at least 66 housing units in seven student residences.

© 2020 AFP