Paris (AFP)

Billions of aid for tourism, aeronautics, the automobile or even youth employment: Parliament is preparing to adopt definitively Thursday the 3rd amended budget bill and its new emergency measures.

After two weeks of examination in the Assembly and a marathon weekend in the Senate, the compromise reached by deputies and senators in the joint committee will be submitted successively to the final vote of the two chambers in the afternoon.

"With this green light, these are essential measures (...) which will be implemented to support employment, in particular the employment of young people, our companies and our territories", according to the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.

Overall, this amending finance bill provides for around 45 billion euros in support to sectors particularly affected by the crisis: tourism, aeronautics or automotive. It ratifies aid of 4.5 billion euros to communities.

In the Senate, the government passed a series of new appropriations: 744 million euros in commitment authorizations for exceptional learning aid, 50 million euros for the financing of the one-euro meal for scholarship students, 75 million euros to renew the fleet of police and gendarmerie vehicles.

490 million euros have also been added to decarbonise industry or industrial relocation projects, and another 250 million for the financing agency for transport infrastructure in France (AFITF).

- Over a billion for youth employment -

Regarding youth employment, the government has put on the table more than one billion euros to finance aid of 4,000 euros in exemption from charges for the hiring of a young person under 25 years old at the start of the school year.

Initially, this aid was to be limited to salaries of 1.6 Smic. It will finally be raised to a salary of two minimum wage, confirmed Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.

Several fiscal measures have been voted by the Assembly, aimed at caregivers, soldiers or to support the press.

MEPs also voted for an LREM measure calling for "strong" ecological commitments from large companies. "A decoy" and simple "greenwashing", denounced the left and environmental NGOs.

Regarding the financial compensation for the loss of revenue due to the coronavirus of Ile-de-France Mobilités, the management company of Ile-de-France transport, the parliamentarians added 180 million euros to the 425 million euros of down payment planned for 2020, according to the report. general rapporteur of the budget to the Laurent Saint-Martin Assembly (LREM).

His counterpart in the Senate Alberic de Montgolfier (LR) regretted that the deputies-senators agreement "did not make it possible to further strengthen the deposit paid in 2020 by the State, at the risk that Parisian public transport would be deprived of however essential investments ".

The subject is the subject of a standoff between the majority and the president (ex-LR) of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse who accuses the State of not bailing out Ile-de-France Mobilités.

This bill expects a historic recession of 11% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, a deficit which is still widening to 11.5% and a public debt which swells to 120.9% of GDP.

Prime Minister Jean Castex indicated that the debt resulting from the crisis would be treated separately with repayment spread over the long term via a dedicated resource. Parliament must also adopt a bill on Thursday digging the "security hole" after the coronavirus.

There will be no fourth budget rectified at the start of the school year, the recovery plan of 100 billion euros announced by Emmanuel Macron to be included in the finance bill (PLF) for 2021.

This recovery plan will be presented to the Council of Ministers on August 24. The PLF will be examined from October 12 by the National Assembly, then from November 19 in the Senate, according to the provisional timetable, with a view to its final adoption before the end of the year.

© 2020 AFP