The seduction operation of French masks is ready to be launched. And there is an emergency. For the past fifteen days, entire stocks of "general public" masks, made of fabric, made in French factories in France, have been sleeping in the boxes, for lack of buyers. The observation is bitter: if the 25 million weekly units produced in France were sold at the start of deconfinement like hotcakes, disposable masks, mainly from Asia, are more attractive today.
This Monday, a meeting is to be held in Bercy with the aim of perpetuating a textile mask industry in France. But also to find, fissa, new outlets to sell the unsold. "We asked Yves Dubief, the CEO of the Tenthorey company, and Guillaume Gibault, the founder of the French Brief, to become ambassadors for textile masks," said the cabinet of Secretary of State Agnès Pannier-Runacher. . Their mission is to evangelize the French general public mask. "
Haro on Asian masks
Because the 400 textile companies which have patented masks, invested in haste to supply the French, are now - for some - in the red. The State which, last April, still placed an order for 10 million cloth masks in Vietnam, is therefore today trying to come to the aid of a mired sector. "We alerted them in mid-May that the demand would not always be so strong, that it was urgent to rectify the situation," do we clear in Bercy.
Indeed, if the demand was very strong at the start, “the market was finally structured and each company, local authority or other, found a supplier, not necessarily French, regrets Guillaume Gibault. Today, it must be explained that sustainable purchasing is essential, with reusable French masks 10, 20, 30 and soon up to 50 times. The boss of the French Brief hopes to capture repeat orders, from local communities in particular, and convince sectors that are still poorly equipped, such as catering.
"Big companies don't play the game"
But the hard part remains to be done: convincing individuals. "The French prefer single-use surgical masks, mostly imported from China," says one to the cabinet of Agnès Pannier-Runacher. In the collective imagination, it reassures more than the fabric mask. However, it is more expensive, sold between 0.55 euros and 0.60 euros per unit, against 3 to 5 euros for a French mask reusable twenty times (ie between 0.15 and 0.25 euros per use). But what also frustrates us is these large companies who choose disposable masks to equip their employees. They do not play the game of ecology, nor of our economy. "
And if the ministerial mission hopes to "bring some to reason", the duo of entrepreneurs should also seek new markets abroad. "We must open new markets internationally, thanks to the Business France network," warns Bercy. Few countries have produced quality fabric masks like ours. It is a playing card. "