It is only a matter of days. Faced with the acceleration of contamination cases, stage 3 of the precautionary measures will soon be launched. What will happen then?
Supermarkets make stocks
Large retailers are waiting for the government to specify the new rules to come. "Will there be confinement, filters at the entrance to the stores to limit the number of people present?" Will hygiene measures be reinforced? Can we still bring transport from abroad? We need clarifications on all these points, ”said a spokesperson for the Casino group (Géant casino, Franprix, Monoprix, etc.), pending Monday's meeting, to be held at the Ministry of the Economy.
Same story with System U: "We don't yet know what will be imposed on us", confirms a spokesperson. On the other hand, after the panic of the last weekend, when stores were stripped of their basic necessities such as pasta, rice, canned vegetables, soap, the brands increased their reserves. "We have a month and a half in advance of stocks of pasta in advance in our warehouses, against a usual month," says one at System U.
Transport insured?
In case of passage to stage 3, the main transport organizations will line up behind the decisions of the government. He has already indicated that there is a need to ensure continuity of care. In particular, allow hospital staff to travel by metro or train. Unless contraindicated, the SNCF will continue to run its TGV, Intercités, TER and Transilien trains. The RATP, which confirmed this week two cases of coronavirus among its employees, admits not having yet details on the device envisaged by the authorities. However, depending on local situations and outbreaks, public transport may be temporarily suspended.
VIDEO. Coronavirus: what is stage 3 of the epidemic?
Pôle emploi remains open
Moving to stage 3 or not, Pôle emploi will keep its branches open, including in the centers of spread of the coronavirus. The operator will have "the obsession to continue to operate as a public service", insisted this Friday Jean Bassères, the general manager. We provide vital services as replacement income; we absolutely must provide this service. The boss of Pôle emploi did not hide his "great concern about the macroeconomic consequences" and "the repercussions on the flow of hires".
Telework, force majeure, partial unemployment…
At Medef, we confirm that we receive many questions from business leaders. Many of them concern “telework and the exercise of the right of withdrawal”, which allows the employee to stop working in the event of danger. In addition, "many are learning about the issue of " force majeure " , which provides that a company cannot be penalized in the event of delivery delays". Finally, some SMEs, with supply difficulties, particularly in automotive subcontracting, are already talking about partial unemployment.
However, it is not easy to adapt to a health risk that has been little taken into account. According to a recent Risk Barometer conducted by Kyu, a risk management consultancy, health risk appears to be the least valued risk among the 18 usual risks identified (natural disaster, cyber attack, geopolitical event, industrial risk, etc.). "This risk was poorly prepared by supply chain managers ( supply chain ), but it was also poorly prepared by companies," says a senior official from the Ministry of the Economy. When setting up a business continuity plan, some start from a blank page. "
