Paris (AFP)

After Air France or Renault, the State promises aid of "several billion euros" to another emblematic company, SNCF, to overcome the heavy loss of earnings caused in particular by the health crisis.

The railway group will be helped "to the tune of several billion euros," said Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari in an interview with Figaro dated Thursday, while noting that the State has already allowed SNCF to borrow 1.2 billion euros on the markets and financed "the salary of one in three railway workers" for the partial activity during confinement.

"Several options are on the table: the recapitalization of the group or the recovery of an additional part of the debt, for example," said Jean-Baptiste Djebbari in this interview.

"Are we going to use one option over another or mix up solutions?" he continues. He emphasizes that "the arbitrations have not yet been rendered".

In mid-June, SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou estimated that the Covid-19 crisis alone should cost the railway operator nearly four billion euros in turnover.

If we add the loss of turnover linked to the strikes against the pension reform, estimated at one billion euros, the shortfall for the SNCF is some 5 billion euros since last December.

From May, fearing that the financial situation of SNCF - which accumulated a debt of some 35 billion euros at the start of 2020 - would worsen, Mr. Farandou appealed to the State shareholder: "The notion of 'an aid plan for the SNCF does not seem unreasonable to me, "he said, recalling that Air France and Renault had benefited from it.

- Two new night trains by 2022 -

"If the State invests considerable sums, it expects in return that the SNCF has a high level economic, environmental and social performance", warns Jean-Baptiste Djebbari in Le Figaro.

"We want the rail network to be modernized within ten years; so that passenger trains can run smoothly, day and night, as well as freight trains. we must stay the course of the 2018 reform, that is to say an investment of several billion euros per year until 2022 to regenerate the rail network, "he continues.

"A sufficiently strong aid could allow the SNCF to return to balance as soon as possible. Clearly, it is a question of not resuming manufacturing debt", underlines Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.

During his speech on July 14, Emmanuel Macron stressed that he intended to "massively redevelop" rail freight, small train lines and night trains as part of his ecological transition policy.

With a view to "relaunching rail freight in France", Mr. Djebbari indicates that he notably proposed to the Prime Minister "to lower tolls for companies operating on the national network".

The government also aims "to relaunch by 2022 two additional night trains with, why not, a Paris-Nice to start", said the Minister Delegate.

"The State will first finance the renovation of existing rolling stock before considering the purchase of new trainsets to develop a larger European network in the longer term", he explains.

On the "small lines", "the State will continue to mobilize substantial co-financing to renovate as many other lines as possible," he promises.

© 2020 AFP