The start of the year promises to be difficult for the French economy according to Bruno Le Maire

The beginning of 2021 promises to be still difficult for the French economy, warned the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire on Thursday, who assures that he wants to carry out “total” support at the same time for sectors still very affected by the crisis and economic recovery.

"The most difficult is ahead of us, we will have to show considerable strength of character," said the minister during a videoconference exchange with the think tank Institut Montaigne.

"We have before us a virus that persists, (...) we will have more bankruptcies in 2021 than in 2020 (...), we have a transition in employment which will result in the destruction of jobs for a while and that will be difficult to cushion, and then we have political uncertainties, "he detailed.

For the French economy to succeed in "overcoming these difficulties", and while the government is counting on growth of 6% this year, it first reiterated its desire for "total" support for sectors in difficulty.

The hotel and catering industry, events, culture or sport, "we will not let them down, we will put the necessary money", insisted the Mr. Le Maire, while a reopening on January 20 of restaurants and cafes move further and further away.

The government is also working to increase aid paid to businesses to meet the needs of restaurant and hotel chains for which the sums currently allocated are insufficient, he confirmed.

Hoteliers and restaurateurs are asking to be able to collect up to 3 million euros, like what Germany pays its companies for the payment of their fixed charges. The discussion is taking place with Brussels, which must validate such a device.

The minister also wants the banks to generalize the postponement of one year of the start of repayment of State Guaranteed Loans (PGE) granted to companies, while the deadline is approaching with the first repayments due in principle in the spring.

In addition, Bruno Le Maire reiterated his openness to more support for the most modest, why not by creating a food check.

Alongside this support, the minister intends to continue deploying the recovery plan for more dynamic sectors. "The revival began at the end of 2020, we will accelerate it in 2021", he assured, citing the success of several calls for projects launched in recent months.