On this third day of deconfinement, industrial activity rose to 60% in France, said Agnès Pannier Runacher, Secretary of State for the Economy "The recovery is there, but we must continue our efforts to join the curve of our European neighbors, a little more ahead of the restart, "said Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
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Invited this morning on CNEWS, the Secretary of State for the Economy evoked some avenues studied by the ministry to stimulate demand in the coming months. Bercy is now working on the development of a recovery plan, which should be active in September. The time to have " a clearer vision on the dynamics of the French recovery and that internationally ", explained the Secretary of State.
" After the massive state emergency aid plan for businesses, we must now think of support plans, especially for the very fragile sectors of tourism, the automobile or aeronautics ", a- she added.
Sunday opening of shops
This week, the president (LR) of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly Eric Woerth proposed in the columns of the Parisian as a stimulus, the opening of shops on Sunday for a given period. Asked about the subject, Agnès Pannier-Runacher said that the ministry was not closed to the idea, but that there had not been " at this stage a request in this sense from traders or independent ”.
“ It's something that you can perfectly imagine. During the confinement period, large retailers and food businesses were well authorized to open on Sundays, "she said.
Towards a shift in summer sales to mid-July
The Secretary of State also explained that the Ministry of Economy and Finance had started discussions with the Federations in order to postpone the summer sales by one month. The latter usually start on June 24 and last until July 21 in most French departments. " We will decide in the coming days, but they could start rather around mid-July, " she said.
Another subject of concern for the French, Agnès Pannier-Runacher mentioned the difficulties encountered by the tourism and hotel and catering sectors, which remain unable to open their establishments. In recent days, restaurateurs, led by Olivier Bertrand, have notably asked the government to lower the VAT to 5.5%. Asked on the subject, she explained that " the question of VAT does not really arise at this stage, because these establishments are not yet open ", while stressing that the ministry is rather working on measures to abolish social security contributions and an extension of the solidarity fund in order to " save as many restaurants and cafes as possible ". A meeting is planned in the coming days with the sectors concerned to discuss the various support measures.
Half of the washable masks produced in France
Finally, Agnès Pannier-Runacher unveiled new data concerning the 200 million masks produced and imported into French territory each week. “ Of these 200 million masks, some 40 million are reusable and washable. And half of his washable masks are produced under French control, ”she said. More than 430 French companies have thus successfully passed the guaranteed filtration tests of the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) in recent weeks.
But if the country is now able to produce and import masks for all French people, the issue today is a question of budget, conceded the secretary of state. “ This is why we launched the free distribution of 5 million masks to the most vulnerable French people. We are of course equipping patients and patients with coronavirus free of charge and we are also distributing masks in schools . ”