Paris (AFP)

While the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) recommends avoiding certain fabric masks, which are not sufficiently filtering, some European countries are going even further, by making the wearing of the FFP2 mask compulsory in stores and transport.

What are these masks for?

Who makes them and how?

Is there a risk of shortage?

Here is what you need to know about the FFP2 protection market:

Shaped like a duckbill, FFP2 masks have usually been reserved for caregivers since the start of the health crisis because they are more protective.

Their filtering system blocks 94% of aerosols, the finest particles (around 0.6 micrometers).

Their objective: to protect people who wear it in particularly risky situations.

For this, they conform to the shape of the face and do not yawn, unlike other masks.

Some specialists argue that these almost hermetic masks are more restrictive to wear because it takes more effort to breathe.

Another obstacle: they cost more.

The health authorities want to encourage the French to wear more filtering masks because of the appearance of new variants more contagious than the classic coronavirus, detected first in England or South Africa.

- Increasing demand -

"Since the new recommendations" from the French government to no longer wear handmade fabric masks, "I spend my days on the phone with suppliers to secure my supplies, it is very tense, demand is exploding", tells AFP a pharmacist from the north of Paris.

"There I am happy because I can offer for sale packages of 20 FFP2 masks for 24.90 euros, it's cheaper than before", he rejoices.

The company Paul Boyé Technologies, located near Toulouse, has observed that the demand for its FFP2 masks "has multiplied by 6 last week", with a "progressive opening to the general public" concerning its customers.

The same goes for the Coop des Masques, whose sales have increased by about 30% over one month, to resellers, explains its general manager Patrick Guilleminot to AFP.

More generally, the latter observed an "increase in questions" about the price and production capacities of FFP2 protections.

"People are wondering, including large administrations," he underlines.

- A "Made in France" production that adapts -

La Coop des Masques, a Breton company, launched the production of medical masks last December.

With a production line for FFP2 and 21 employees, it says it is ready to face an increase in production.

"We can increase the speed of our machines and the number of teams," says Mr. Guilleminot.

Paul Boyé Technologies ensures for his part to meet the demand, and to have "still the ability to return to a 3x8 operation (ie three shifts of eight hours of work), against 2x8 currently".

Established near Toulouse, the group says it manufactures "600,000 masks per day", from raw materials from French suppliers.

Faced with growing demand, the production in France of these masks seems to be going without a particular hitch.

"We have no escalation of difficulties" from companies, assures AFP a spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry.

"This is a situation that we are monitoring, with the General Directorate of Enterprises in Bercy. We are in regular contact with companies to ensure that things are going well," he said.

According to him, the French production of masks increased from 3.5 million per week in January 2020, to 100 million, a year later.

"About a quarter of this production concerns FFP2 masks," he said, while "good twenty players" share the French market today, against four in March last year.

No data was available on the share of foreign production on the French market.

© 2021 AFP