Emmanuel Macron had announced that the State would help companies "whatever it takes" in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. In total, the support measures put in place in their favor have amounted to 240 billion euros since March 2020. On September 30, the solidarity fund will be abolished.
An update on the cost of business support measures
Bruno Le Maire has drawn up the bill for the aid offered to businesses in response to the health crisis. Since March 2020, 240 billion euros have been allocated to these players, mainly in the form of subsidies and loans.
In detail, according to the Minister of the Economy and Finance, subsidies amounted to 80 billion euros and state-guaranteed loans (PGE) to 160 billion euros. Among the subsidies, 35 billion euros were dedicated to the solidarity fund and 35 billion euros to partial activity in order to avoid mass unemployment. Tax exemptions "saved companies and prevented bankruptcies", to the tune of over 10 billion euros.
Since the beginning of the health crisis, 685,000 PGEs have been granted for a total of 139.3 billion euros, according to the Ministry of the Economy. In addition to these, other loans, notably equity loans, have been granted by the French government, amounting to some 20 billion euros.
"The bill for whatever it costs has enabled us to save our jobs, our businesses and the French economy," says Bruno Le Maire. Today, the French economy is running at "99% capacity", and consumption is picking up strongly, justifying, in his view, the end of massive aid to businesses.
One-month reprieve for the solidarity fund
On August 30, Bruno Le Maire met with representatives of the tourism sector and informed them of changes in business support. Among the main measures announced was the abolition of the solidarity fund on September 30, 2021. Employers feared that this aid would end on August 31. In the end, the government decided to extend it by one month.
As a reminder, the solidarity fund now only concerns the tourism sector. Companies hardest hit by the crisis can claim this aid to cover up to 20% of their sales. This rate will be maintained in September. The only new feature is that, to qualify, companies must achieve sales of at least 15%, the aim being to avoid any windfall effects.
These decisions have been met with varying degrees of approval by employers' associations. Some insist on the need to reopen aid on the basis of the drop in activity, rather than on the basis of belonging to a list of priority sectors. Others are calling for measures that go beyond the solidarity fund, such as maintaining social rights, doubling training entitlements and strengthening access to EMPs.