For the start of the school year, the Medef wants an optimistic speech in the face of the pandemic

The Medef will hold its summer school on Wednesday and Thursday in a reduced format because of the pandemic, which will be omnipresent in the debates, and in the face of which the employers' organization wants to hold an optimistic speech, despite the postponement of the presentation of the plan stimulus. Called this year “ Renaissance of French companies ” (REF), the event will take place for the second consecutive year at the Parisian racecourse of Longchamp, airy and conducive to physical distancing.

Prestigious speakers

Its behavior, long uncertain, " is an important signal ", because " we have to live with the Covid, the economy must continue to turn, that we can continue to make events ", declared the 'AFP the president of Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux.

Speakers include Prime Minister Jean Castex, who will open the event, as well as most of the government heavyweights: Jean-Yves Le Drian (Foreign Affairs), Barbara Pompili (Ecological Transition), Elisabeth Borne (Labor), Bruno The Mayor (Economy) and Olivier Véran (Health).

Read also: Covid-19: the announcement of the government's recovery plan postponed for a week

The analysis of the recovery plan of 100 billion euros, supposed to be presented Tuesday by the executive, was to be one of the highlights of the REF, but the government announced this weekend its postponement of a week.

" What we are discussing today is going in the right direction overall " with " support for investment, employment ", estimates pending the president of Medef, who says " very anxious to have a speech positive towards companies, even if we are lucid and we know that it will be difficult in the coming months ”.

Political oppositions will also be present, notably with the LR president of the Association of Mayors of France François Baroin, the PS mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the number 1 of Europe Ecology-The Greens, Yannick Jadot, all three " potential candidates In the presidential election of 2022, notes the president of Medef.

Read also: Jean Castex, star guest of Medef

A dozen big bosses of French groups including Paul Hudson (Sanofi), Antoine Frérot (Veolia) or Alexandre Bompard (Carrefour), will also speak, as will the European negotiator Michel Barnier, four months from the end of the period of Brexit transition. Foreign participants will however be few in number, due to the health crisis.

Not just the Covid

The topics discussed will sometimes deliberately move business leaders away from their daily concerns, because they " need to raise their heads and not only deal with taxation and social law ", argues the one who likes to define himself as the " door - words of the bosses ”.

Among the subjects debated, “ rediscovering the meaning and values ​​of our democracy ”, generational conflicts or the fight against discrimination. On the latter in the world of work, " there are like everywhere, (but) I do not think that companies are the worst students, " said the president of Medef.

Nine executives, including SNCF boss Jean-Pierre Farandou, however published in the Journal du Dimanche a call for " faster progress in gender diversity " in the business world, arguing for efforts in this direction are " not sacrificed with the crisis ". The themes of the REF " Being prepared for emergencies " and " Living with risk " are directly linked to the pandemic, as is that on new forms of work organization.

Beyond massive teleworking and its consequences, there is also the question of " the metropolization of the economy ", notes Mr. Roux de Bézieux. " We forgot the yellow vests a little, but it was still due to the fact that many jobs are created in large cities and that medium-sized towns and rural areas suffer, " he recalls. Finally, a sequence will be devoted to economic sovereignty and relocations.