Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday a plan in favor of more than three million self-employed workers, in particular to protect their personal assets and expand access to unemployment insurance, in a speech with a meeting accent.

"You represent the common thread of my commitment in recent years, merit, work, risk taking and the will!", Launched the Head of State, applauded by around 600 members of the U2P, the main organization independent workers - craftsmen, traders, liberal professions, etc. - at the Maison de la Mutualité.

"We must re-engage the whole nation in this culture of work and merit, it is a cultural struggle," he added.

He announced about twenty measures, starting with the protection of the personal assets of the self-employed which "will be elusive" in the event of default.

"Only the elements essential to professional activity can be entered," he said, while currently only the main residence is protected in the event of a professional blow.

To better fulfill a campaign promise, he also announced that all self-employed workers who cease their activity will be able to touch unemployment insurance, once every five years, in order to facilitate access to this device with "too restrictive" criteria. ".

It will no longer be necessary to have gone through liquidation or reorganization and the income test will be relaxed, he said.

This system, put in place in November 2019, has only been used by a thousand people.

Emmanuel Macron on September 16, 2021 in Paris at the U2P meeting Christophe PETIT TESSON POOL / AFP

"The conditions set were so restrictive on it was very very motivated people who went to seek reform," he admitted.

Other measures, aid for optional insurance against accidents at work and occupational disease, a doubling of the tax credit for the training of managers of companies with less than ten employees and tax breaks for the transfer in the event of departure to the retirement.

"Often, you have had the feeling of being the blind spots, the abandoned, of public policies", summed up the president.

"For 27 years and the Madelin law, there had been no text dedicated to all self-employed workers, this plan is therefore a historic step", highlighted the president of the U2P, Dominique Métayer.

Emmanuel Macron defended in passing the implementation of unemployment insurance, scheduled for October.

"We must ensure that it is never more profitable not to work than to work," he said, receiving a round of applause from small entrepreneurs.

The measures announced in favor of the self-employed will be applicable from January 2022 and implemented via three texts: a dedicated bill, the finance bill and the social security financing bill.

© 2021 AFP