Saint-Malo (AFP)
The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire promised Friday in front of tourism professionals in Saint-Malo a new aid system which allows “healthy companies to pass the wall of debt” caused by the health crisis.
"There are certain companies, SMEs, which will find themselves facing a wall of debt in the weeks and months to come when they are healthy companies. I wanted to tell them very clearly that we would not give up no healthy business in the country, "said Bruno Le Maire after a meeting with the hotel and tourism sectors of Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine).
He said "work on a support system" which will be finalized "within two weeks to three weeks".
"We will have an early warning to identify these companies", "a single point of contact" and "thirdly, new adapted financial responses", he explained.
France must "not lose businesses, SMEs, family businesses which are perfectly healthy but which have accumulated debts" since the epidemic.
After the return to activity, the aid granted will be withdrawn "gradually" and "we will support in the coming weeks of reopening all the sectors which for 14 months have been living in slow motion", he said.
On the question of the loan guaranteed by the State (PGE), he reminded the professionals of the privateer city that the PGE was currently five years.
"We can consider going up to eight years", he said to "give a little air" to companies, stressing that "they need the prior agreement of the European Commission".
Without commenting on a precise timetable, he said he was "gun in hand, all ready to restart".
"The most important thing is to be ready for the restart. It is a question of properly organizing the sanitary conditions," he said.
While Brittany remains one of the regions least affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, Bruno Le Maire confirmed that there would be "regional differentiation", without saying more, recalling that the decision was up to the Prime Minister and that everything "will depend on the health situation".
© 2021 AFP