Paris (AFP)

The fixed costs of businesses closed due to the Covid-19 epidemic and those of the sectors linked to them, achieving more than one million euros in turnover per month, will be covered at 70% , announced Thursday the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.

This "exceptional aid" will be added to aid from the solidarity fund and is currently capped at 3 million euros over the period from January to June 2021, said the minister.

He indicated that this limit of three million euros was a "starting point" and resulting from negotiations with the European Commission which will continue.

The Minister of the Economy explained that this new measure was aimed at "important structures" such as hotel chains, "restaurateurs who have several restaurants in the same city", "indoor activities" such as bowling alleys or sports halls.

For smaller companies, "we will work with parliamentarians on the best ways to lower this threshold of one million euros which I know may be penalizing for a certain number of very specific small structures", further detailed Bruno Le Mayor.

He also announced that the Solidarity Fund for companies indirectly affected by administrative closures linked to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic (related sectors) until now limited to 10,000 euros per month, was increased from last December to a compensation of 20% of the turnover, within the limit of 200,000 euros, if they have lost 70% of their turnover.

Bruno Le Maire notably cited "suppliers of cafes and restaurants, wholesale trade, hotels, launderers, roasters".

"We are relieved, our companies will be able to breathe, everything will not be settled but they will have the serenity of being able to benefit from the aid", reacted Laure Bomy, general manager of the National Beverage Federation (FNB), who believes that "almost 100% of companies in the sector enter the system ".

"All this is going in the right direction, even if we still do not have any prospect of reopening" for the restaurants, reacted to AFP Hervé Becam, vice-president of Umih, main union of the hotel industry -restoration.

On the side of the employers' union of self-employed GNI in this same sector, Didier Chenet highlights "listening to the government and the massive support" of the aid announced, which will "help to restructure and also to restore morale. And almost all of them. hotels will be able to adhere "to the extended systems," he underlines.

© 2021 AFP