Measures to support restaurants, cafés, hotels and businesses in the tourism, events, sport and culture sectors – Press release (24 Apr. 20)

The French President, together with Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy and Finance, Gérald Darmanin, Minister for Government Action and Public Accounts, and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, held a meeting today, Friday 24 April, with hotel, café, restaurant, tourism and leisure professionals.

Meetings will be organized with culture, communication, events and sports professionals next week.

As part of the economic emergency plan being implemented by the Government, businesses in these sectors have benefited from unprecedented measures.
To take into account the specific situation of hotels, cafés, restaurants and businesses in the tourism, events, sport and culture sectors, the support measures in the economic emergency plan will be maintained and stepped up as follows:

• The opportunity for partial activity will be maintained for these sectors after activity resumes.

• The solidarity fund will also remain open to businesses in these sectors after May. Conditions for accessing it will be extended to those businesses in the sectors concerned which have up to 20 employees and turnovers of €2 million, and the ceiling for subsidies which can be paid under the plan’s second phase will be increased to €10,000.

• Micro-businesses and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in these sectors will be exempted from social security contributions during the lockdown period, from March to June. All these businesses will automatically be exempted, whether or not they have already settled their contributions. ETIs ¹ and large businesses in these sectors which are not automatically exempted will be able to obtain long-term deferments of social security and tax contributions and, on a case-by-case basis, request debt cancellations depending on their financial situation.

• In terms of taxation, the Government will talk to local authorities about arrangements for deferring the Corporate Property Tax (CFE) and for exemption from the fixed-rate portion of the tourist tax for 2020.

• Rents and royalties for occupying public places or land due to national lessors (the State and operators) for micro-businesses and SMEs in these sectors will be cancelled for the period of administrative closure. A practical guide will be published for local authorities wishing to do the same.

The Government notes the strong expectations of professionals from the hotel, café and restaurant, tourism and leisure industries about the resumption of their activities. These industries are crucial for the French economy, regions, employment and, more broadly, for promoting France’s influence abroad.
Their activities will be resumed within a framework providing every health safeguard for customers and tourists, as well as employees and entrepreneurs. Health protocols will be developed for each of these sectors and approved by the Government.

The Government is also working on the creation of an investment fund to help these sectors.

Additional measures will be necessary to support the resumption of activities. These measures are being co-designed with professionals from these sectors in the framework of the Comité de filière tourisme [Tourism Industry Committee]. To facilitate their implementation, the Government is engaging in close international cooperation, particularly at the European level.

The Government will review all these matters with professionals from these industries during an Interministerial Tourism Council meeting, which will be held on 14 May./.

⁽¹⁾ entreprises de taille intermédiaire are companies with between 250 and 4,999 employees and a turnover of less than €1.5 billion.