Caution is the mother of safety.
Asked about BFMTV, the boss of Bercy was cautious about the date of mid-May, advanced by Emmanuel Macron in his last speech to reopen certain activities closed for months.
Bruno Le Maire does not "
confirm
" the date of May 15, while a meeting must be held tomorrow around the President of the Republic to prepare for the resumption.
Read also: Covid-19: Macron will chair a meeting on Thursday at the Elysee on how to end the crisis
"
I will not give a timetable,
" repeated the French Minister of the Economy, adding that May 15 "
is one of the assumptions
".
A "
hypothesis
", therefore, at this stage, which may change depending on the health situation, he said.
"We are going to build, between mid-May and the beginning of summer, a timetable for gradual reopening",
accompanied by
"strict rules"
, Emmanuel Macron said at the end of March.
A large number of factors must be taken into account to prepare for the weeks to come: “
preparing for the reopening means first looking at the calendar, looking at the different activities - a terrace restaurant is not the same as a restaurant. indoor restaurant, hotel, bar - and look at the health protocols which accompany the reopening
"so that it is"
successful
", enumerated the minister.
Read also: Will restaurants and bars be able to reopen their terraces in mid-May?
Bruno Le Maire repeated once again that aid to professionals would be maintained "
as long as there are health restrictions
", without failing.
They will then be gradually withdrawn, as Olivier Dussopt indicates in our columns.
If the date of May 15 is confirmed, for example, the Minister is in favor of all aid remaining for restaurants in May, then that they decrease in the following months.
Bercy also follows "
extremely closely
" the evolution of corporate debt, and will do "
the maximum
" to avoid bankruptcy.
Spreading the debt or canceling part of the debt are among the hypotheses studied.
A “
consultation and conciliation system
” should be presented in a few weeks, to enable “
tailor-made
”
solutions to be offered
to companies facing a “
wall of debts
”.
The healthiest, in temporary difficulty, must imperatively be saved, pleaded the minister.
A reflection on European budgetary rules
The health and political crisis will permanently mark the European economy.
Among the most salient signals, member states' debt has exploded, from France to Germany, including Spain, Italy and Greece.
And, according to Bruno Le Maire, this new reality will have to lead the Union to reflect on its budgetary pact.
For the Minister of the Economy, the indicator according to which the public debt must be capped at 60% of the GDP is "
exceeded
", at a time when a difference of "
100 points
" exists between the debt levels of certain States members.
"
I will ask that, when the time comes, we can differentiate the situation of each Member State of the euro zone
" rather than using a general criterion, specified the Minister, for whom the current rule "
loses all meaning
" .
Bruno Le Maire agrees in this with the position of Emmanuel Macron, who has also spoken out on several occasions for a reflection on European stability rules.
This reflection will have to be initiated after the crisis, judged the minister.
Similarly, France will have to make efforts, once the health and economic crisis "
really behind us
", to restore its public finances, the minister said.
Attached to a multi-year rule, Bruno Le Maire wants the amount of expenditure to be set at the start of each five-year term, and that the team in power will comply with it, "
except for exceptional events or crises
".
