Invited this Tuesday morning on Europe 1, in the morning of Sonia Mabrouk, Éric Woerth, deputy Les Républicains (LR) de l'Oise, answered many economic questions related to the current health crisis. The deputy in particular estimated that it was necessary “to fear a terrible chain which would produce a social crisis and an increase in unemployment” .
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"The chain may be very serious, the resumption of work for SMEs and industry is fundamental," continued the member, fearing a "rise in populism" and a "resumption of social protests" . On the employment front, Éric Woerth was alarmist: "You can have 300,000, 400,000, 500,000 or even 1 million additional unemployed people" .
Speed up the reopening of businesses
Emphasizing the balance between the health emergency and the economic emergency, the deputy for Oise believes that we must "stop wasting time". He expects the government to give "clear instructions on the terms of economic recovery" so that employees can "return to work in conditions of strong security" . "It must be done in a prudent and gradual manner," he added, indicating that securing transport in large cities would be essential. As a reminder, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe will present the executive deconfinement plan at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
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To accelerate the economic recovery, Éric Woerth believes that it is already possible to reopen businesses in certain areas little affected by the epidemic. "We think that in certain territories, with the respect of the barrier gestures, it is possible to start to reopen cafes and shops immediately, in a prudent manner according to the evolution of the virus," he said.
Work more ?
To boost the economy, deputy LR mentioned several avenues. Among them: the shifting of partial unemployment credits (15 to 20 billion euros per month, according to his figures) towards the reduction of social charges to "reduce the cost of labor" . "Everything must be done to transform partial unemployment into real work ," he said.
Éric Woerth also returned to his idea for the Livret C. “A huge savings, of the order of 60 billion euros, was built up during this crisis. This savings will stay. Some will be used for consumption. For the remainder of this savings, it must be allowed to invest in industry, " he said.
The MP also estimated that it will "probably work more" when the activity resumes. “We are among the last in class. Other countries work much more and are more efficient in production, ” explained Eric Woerth, citing Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.
"This crisis is much more serious than the 2008 crisis. We must respond with a solid recovery, by trying to encourage a little inflation and by injecting liquidity," finally said the deputy, qualifying those who want to cancel the debts of "sweet dreamers".