Coronavirus: French industry struggles

At the Renault factory in Flins-sur-Seine, May 6, 2020. Martin BUREAU / AFP

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Within two weeks, the French government will present a plan to support the automobile sector hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. Another plan to help the aeronautical sector will be announced before July 1. In the meantime, the industry is struggling.

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Heavy industry has fallen more in France than in its neighbors, according to a study by Kayrros-EY Consulting for Les Échos , thanks to satellite images. The cement, steel , electricity and petroleum sectors were analyzed . And among the five European countries studied, France is far from coming in first, specifies Patrick Pudduy, partner at Kayrros-EY Consulting. "  Europe on average is 77. France is 67. Only Italy stands.  "

► Also read: French industry: is change now?

Patrick Pudduy puts forward an explanation for this delay: “  There are certain things that have been put in place that can be very good, everything that is shock absorbing, partial unemployment, etc. But there are objectively bosses, leaders who are timid, and who do not restart the chain fast enough, he analyzes. Under cover of protection or other, France takes pleasure in a soft attitude.  "

Zombie companies

And it is not certain that the delay will be made up. “  When there are ruptures, this is where we win, we lose market share. Everything you lose is lost, he says. We must not delude ourselves.  "

Denis Ferrand, CEO of Rexecode, stresses that the industry has gradually recovered even before deconfinement and that the current period must be approached with caution by companies. "  It is often at the restart of activity that companies find themselves in situations of greatest fragility," he emphasizes. You can have companies that, because they are bloodless, will have a hard time sprinting.  "

Denis Ferrand recalls that 5% of companies are considered to be zombie companies, the most at risk.

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  • France
  • Coronavirus
  • Industry
  • Economic crisis
  • Confinement

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