A hundred million euros, this is the estimated amount of the new round of business aid announced on Monday, January 3 by the government.
To compensate for the loss of turnover linked to the fifth wave and to the new health restrictions decided to fight against the development of the Omicron variant, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, once again took out the checkbook.
First measure, partial unemployment, with no out-of-pocket costs for the company, has been extended. From now on, it will be necessary to have lost more than 65% of its turnover against 80% until now, to benefit from this measure of support for its employees. The measure is also extended to activities affected by administrative restriction measures, such as bars, which since January 1 can no longer serve as standing customers.
The second device concerns fixed costs. To protect the cash flow of companies, the threshold for support by the state budget is lowered to 50% loss of turnover against 65% previously. The perimeter of this device is also widened. Until then reserved for caterers, indoor leisure or even the events sector, tourism companies but also bars, restaurants and hotels will be able to benefit from it. Finally, so that the money arrives more quickly on the accounts of the companies which need it, the reimbursement of the fixed costs lower than 50,000 euros, which represents two thirds of the requests, will be accelerated. "It will be carried out in days and no longer in weeks", assured the Minister of the Economy who announced that 40 additional agents will be assigned to this mission.
The repayment of PGE postponed?
These aids are already active and will be spread over the months of December and January.
They will be drawn from the 1.8 billion euros provided for in the amending budget to anticipate a rebound in the epidemic.
Two other aids claimed by the affected sectors are still under discussion.
The first concerns exemptions from charges.
The employers would like this boost for companies that have lost 65% of their turnover or for those affected by restrictive measures.
"We will provide an answer in the coming days," said the minister.
It is necessary to assess the cost and the relevance compared to the already existing system of fixed costs.
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The second is the loans guaranteed by the State (PGE) contracted mainly by very small businesses and SMEs.
Many fear that they will not be able to meet the repayment or payment deadlines for next spring.
The government has pledged to provide a response in the “next few hours”.
"This requires continuing and finalizing discussions with the European Commission, the banking sector and the director of the Bank of France", explained Bruno Le Maire.