"What strikes tourism, obviously strikes France in the heart," lamented Edouard Philippe before announcing the exceptional measures taken by the government to save the sector from bankruptcy. The Prime Minister presented a device to Matignon valued in total at nearly “€ 18 billion”. Its goal: "to support both the recovery and the revival of a sector", which represents 7% of French GDP and two million jobs.
The “solidarity fund” and partial unemployment will thus be maintained for certain companies (companies in the sector of cafes, restaurants, tourism, events, sports and culture) until the end of September. "Beyond that, partial unemployment will remain open" for companies whose "activity resumes too slowly". The State also promises an exemption from employers' social security contributions for all companies in the sector "as long as the closure lasts".
The banking sector will support lending to businesses, by offering the possibility of borrowing via two mechanisms: "a state guaranteed loan season" (up to the three best monthly turnover of the previous year), and "loans the BPI ”, whose envelope goes from 250 million to one billion euros.
Finally, the revival of tourism will also involve raising the daily ceiling for "restaurant tickets", which thus increases from 19 to 38 euros. These will also be usable on weekends. "It may seem incidental, it is not at all," said the Prime Minister.
