Yellow vests and demonstrations, the state measures to offset the losses of companies

Following the impact of the movement of "yellow vests" on the French economy, Bruno Le Maire announced on November 26 the implementation of several measures to support the activity.

Six immediate steps to respond to requests from professional organizations.

All the representatives of the economic sectors met in Bercy on November 26, 2018, during the presentation of a micro-assistance plan, which will be supervised by a business continuity unit. The Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, announced the immediate establishment of six measures to meet the demands of professional organizations.

A spread of social and fiscal deadlines should first be introduced, "company by company", to take into account the impact of events on turnover.

In the same vein, the Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, was charged with studying the implementation of "partial unemployment measures for all companies that might need it", but also "additional openings on Sundays for businesses that would not benefit, "said Bruno Le Maire.

Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy

The minister also asked "insurers to ensure that they accelerate the compensation for all branches and sectors that would have been affected by operating losses," and the banks "to implement facilities in case overflow of overdrafts ".

Finally, Bpifrance will raise its guarantees on cash loans from 40% to 70%, and will postpone a number of loan repayment dates to reduce the cash flow of the businesses affected by the events.

Offset the severe impact on national economic activity

"The report of all economic sectors is clear: recent events have a severe impact on national economic activity," explained Bruno Le Maire after the crisis meeting in Bercy.

The minister recalled the consequences of the actions of the movement of "yellow vests" after a second weekend of mobilization. In supermarkets, the loss of turnover reached 35% on Saturday, November 17 and 18% on Saturday, November 24. In the week, it would range between 8% and 15%. For "some butchers, hairdressers or bakers, the reductions in turnover can reach 60 to 70%", while the losses for wholesale markets are evaluated between 30 and 40%, he detailed.

"Not only are some stores closed or suffer from filtering, but warehouse blockages pose supply problems. Sites today can not open because they have not been delivered, "says Jacques Creyssel, General Delegate of the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD) in an article of the World, denouncing a" cumulative effect " .

Risks also in terms of image for France, which could suffer from these events. "For a nation that for 18 months has been restoring (…) these images are obviously in the wrong direction and they are disastrous for the image of our country. Across the Champs-Élysées, it's all France whose attractiveness is weakened, "said Bruno Le Maire.