Faced with the risks posed by this second confinement on the health of craft businesses, the president of the Chamber of Trades and Crafts at the national level (CMA France), Joël Fourny, appointed after the death of Bernard Stalter as a result of the Covid -19, expresses its concerns for a sector which represents 12% of the GDP.
How do you welcome the announcement of this new confinement?
JOËL FOURNY.
We would have liked that all craft businesses could continue their activities, even if it meant stepping up security measures.
Hairdressers, florists, beauticians, mechanics have already adopted certain habits from the deconfinement to manage customer flows.
They would have been able to adapt ...
This is not the option chosen by the government ...
The President of the Republic has undertaken to review the situation in two weeks depending on the health crisis to allow certain activities to resume.
This is what I am defending.
In the meantime, our priority issue is employment and the preservation of our businesses.
We must therefore restore the confidence of their leaders, be by their side to help them benefit from the various measures, in particular the 10,000 euros from the solidarity fund for closed companies, partial unemployment at 100%, the possibility of postponing reimbursement of the PGE
(Editor's note: loan guaranteed by the State)
...
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Will this be enough?
This will not be enough to save as many businesses as possible and I am worried.
We already knew that it would be hard to honor all these debts over time, it will not improve with this second confinement.
For these companies directly affected, we ask for the cancellation of certain debts, of all the tax and social charges that had been deferred, automatically.
We plan to ask for a special fund for crafts in order to boost the local economy through the promotion of local products, made in France ... All that is lost to date will not be recovered, besides it. is in this period that the craftsmen make a big turnover.
The government must also be wary of the competitive approach.
That is to say ?
Care must be taken to maintain a balance of treatment between large-scale distribution and local shops.
Beyond foodstuffs, the question arises on other open shelves, thus creating unfair competition.
There is the digital issue, with which some companies are not sufficiently equipped ...
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The whole aspect of online purchase is a big issue for the chambers of trades and crafts.
Our support will be further developed.
We are once again putting our crisis units in place to encourage and support craft businesses to carry out diagnostics on their tools and equipment.
It is a necessary means to market their products, including for export, to promote their know-how ... We always tend to believe that craftsmanship is based on old methods that have changed little.
This is completely wrong.
All sectors have experienced an extremely sharp technological advance.
What does this diagnosis consist of?
We have launched a very innovative process on the autodiag-num.artisanat.fr site.
Ten minutes are enough to make his first diagnosis, free.
The craftsman answers around thirty questions on six themes and will have a live report, advice and contacts in the CMAs to go further and initiate transformations.
What do you recommend to artisans immediately?
They should not remain alone, but rely on the network of CMAs.
We will surely reactivate the psychological cell.
We will try as much as possible to ensure the last kilometer between the State and the craftsmen.
We must help them get all the aid and follow it closely over time.
So far, have many artisans requesting state aid?
Between March and August, 55% of local businesses requested at least one aid measure with a variable mobilization rate depending on the sector: 92% of hotel and restaurant businesses used it, compared with only 19% of artisanal food companies.
Intended exclusively for VSEs, the Solidarity Fund was the main device mobilized, at 47%, followed by the deferral of charges and the loan guaranteed by the State, requested by only 18% of them.
Companies have also made massive use of partial activity.
Are layoffs to be feared?
For the moment, we have no more breaches of apprenticeship contracts than the other years, nor redundancies.
It may change ... When companies undergo a second lockdown, a second obligation to close, with all the debts that remain to be honored and will accumulate, I am almost sure that we will have breakages.
We will make sure that there is as little as possible.
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Apprenticeship remains an important pillar of craftsmanship ...
The CMA network is the leading trainer of apprentices in France with 100,000 young people in 112 training centers.
At the end of October, there was an increase of 5% over one year at the national level.
We have recruitments all year round now, not just in September.
Apprenticeship benefits from the positive effect of the measures of the Recovery Plan via direct financial aid and the longer time to find a contract in a company while already being in a training center.
Certain sectors such as catering, hairdressing or aesthetics are struggling more.
How to encourage more made in France?
When you don't need to travel miles to pick up a product or pay shipping costs because you have it locally and it supports 4 or 5 people… Made in France is also that .
It creates real wealth in the area.
We must therefore both promote this French know-how, but also make consumers want to turn to these products rather than others, when possible.
Revitalizing the French economy goes through this.
Emergency resources reactivated
All CMAs have reopened their crisis unit and all direct contacts are mapped on the site www.artisanat.fr and the page covidcma.artisanat.fr.
A national email address is available to respond to all requests as quickly as possible: supportartisanat@cma-france.fr.
An emailing targeted by geolocation will be sent to more than 800,000 craftsmen to encourage them to contact their local advisor.
