Protect businesses and employees from the consequences of the health crisis! This Thursday, March 12 in his televised address, Emmanuel Macron, who asked companies to intensify the use of telework, assured him: the state will do everything, "whatever it costs", to limit as much as possible impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on the French economy. For that, he announced a series of measures which, for the most part, will come into force very quickly.
Partial unemployment
"From the coming days, an exceptional and massive mechanism of partial unemployment" will be put in place, promised the President of the Republic. Concretely, the State "will take charge of the compensation of employees forced to stay at home" and this, he insisted, "whatever the cost".
VIDEO. Macron: "The State will pay compensation to employees forced to stay at home"
Up to now, it was up to the employer to apply online to the Direccte (Regional Directorate for Business, Competition, Consumption, Work and Employment) for partial activation of his company. This could be accepted for six months renewable. Then he then had to pay the unemployed hours to the employee up to 70% of his gross salary and then received state support of 8.04 euros per employee for each non-paid hour, regardless of the salary usually paid to his employee.
At the time of the coronavirus epidemic, the state indemnity will therefore be more generous in order to allow companies to pass this difficult course. But where will the cursor be placed? The Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud will receive the social partners this Friday, March 13, in order to clarify the contours of this emergency measure. "We have worked these last days so that partial unemployment is supported up to two or three times the minimum wage," we were told Thursday evening in Bercy. Emmanuel Macron evoked "the German model" knowing that in Germany, the federal employment agency supports up to 67% of the loss of wages suffered by employees in reduced activity for twelve months, whatever the usual salary.
Contributions and taxes
"All the companies which wish it can postpone without justification, without formalities, without penalties, the payment of the contributions and taxes due in March", announced the head of state.
Clearly, the 48 hour period during which the agents of the Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP) analyzed the files of the companies to verify, in theory, that they could claim deferral of their charges. From now on, on a simple email to the DGFiP, everything will be automatically ratified for small and large companies.
Winter break
“Protect the most vulnerable first. It is the absolute priority […]. This ordeal also requires social mobilization towards the poorest and most vulnerable. The winter break will be postponed for two months. And I ask the government for exceptional measures in this context for the most fragile. "
The "winter break" prohibits any rental eviction at the request of an owner. But also any gas or electricity cut by a supplier, between November 1 and March 31. So that it had to end in 19 days, the winter break is therefore extended until May 31.
Recovery plan
"I have asked the government to already prepare a national and European recovery plan consistent with our priorities and commitments for the future," said Emmanuel Macron.
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The objective: to get into battle order to be "ready, coordinated and avoid a financial crisis", as in 2008, we decipher in Bercy. This Monday, March 16, in Brussels, the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, intends to put this recovery plan on the agenda of the Eurogroup, the finance ministers of the euro area. But behind the scenes, we already warn that the showdown with Germany, which is not in favor of a recovery plan, risks being complicated.
