The employers' organization U2P calls on the Medef (French employers' association) not to "defend the world of finance" against "the world of work"

The president of the smallest employers' organization, behind the Medef and the CPME, had already announced that he would not attend the "huge meeting, all employers' organizations combined," called for by the president of the Medef, Patrick Martin, apparently without consulting his peers.

"Our small businesses are not affected by the Zucman tax on very high net worth individuals (named after economist Gabriel Zucman)," he continued. "The Medef (French employers' association) needs to get a grip on itself. What's the message from the bosses: 'Don't touch my gold or I'll leave?'"

"What is this, an inverted class struggle? It means that we are in a duality, we are creating a duality between the world of work and the world of (...) finance," said Mr. Picon.

Asked whether the Medef was "the world of finance," this employer representative said: "Of course."

"Small businesses have been suffering for years. Has the MEDEF (French employers' association) taken action against the businesses that have sometimes been suffocated by large MEDEF groups?" he asked.

According to the head of U2P, "we need to have a sharing of added value that is perhaps a little more equitable than what it is today."

"But for (the) efforts to be accepted by retirees, including even by employees (...), for it to be accepted by small bosses or by our employees, the effort must be fairly carried, shared," he insisted.

"The relationship we have with our employees is not necessarily the same as that of large groups: we clearly see people's difficulties," said Mr. Picon.

The U2P represents 2,3 million very small and medium-sized businesses in the craft, local trade and liberal professions sectors.