Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 29 October 2020, the French government has unveiled new measures to support business during the re-period of the general self-isolation regime due to a sharp increase in the number of cases.

In August 2020, the French government has prepared a new economic stimulus plan for the next two years, which is estimated at 100 billion euros.

The economic stimulus plan is estimated at €20 billion and is aimed at supporting small businesses and sectors most affected by the crisis. In particular, the aid package includes the following priority areas.

1. 6 billion euros will be directed to the French Solidarity Fund, which allows about 1.6 million small and medium-sized enterprises and freelancers to receive state aid of up to 10,000 euros.

2. The state partially compensates for the expenses of companies that have cut salaries and working hours of employees. This will be allocated funds in the amount of 7 billion euros. 

Also about 1 billion euros is planned to be allocated to support creditors and another 1 billion euros is provided in the form of benefits for social contributions. According to IMF forecasts, France’s GDP will decline in the fourth quarter of this year by 3-4%. The areas of entertainment and culture, the turnover of the restaurant business in the period from March to August of this year, suffer the most. fell by more than 40% compared to the same period in 2019

3. The rest of the package will consist of government-guaranteed loans and direct loans. According to French finance minister B. Mayor, this will allow companies to borrow loans until June 2021 (the support package will end in January 2021), and extend the repayment of loans for up to two years.

In turn, B. Mayor urged the French to order goods online from local businesses instead of buying from major international e-commerce sites. The government plans to support these efforts with a dedicated digitalization plan. According to the French Ministry of Finance, only 32% of French SMEs have their own websites.

In general, against the background of the second lockdown, the French government is trying to launch economic growth mechanisms "at any cost" in order to prevent a rapid decline in GDP and curb the growth of unemployment.