France COVID-19 Resources

o The French government provides immediate support measures for businesses, including a possibility to delay tax obligations for all companies unconditionally and state reimbursement of all short-time working costs.

o A deferral of social security charges and tax charges has been initiated: with regard to corporate income tax, companies with financial difficulties will have the possibility of requesting a deferral of the payment of taxes due in March 2020.

o Specific arrangements for lending to businesses:

Exceptional State guarantee, up to 300B€, for all companies in need of cash. These loans, non-refundable in the first year, can reach amounts of up to three months of turnover in 2019. They are available from 25 March, either in banks or at the DG Treasury, depending on the size and turnover of the companies. (The State guarantee is 90% for companies with less than 5,000 employees and a turnover less than 1.5B€, 80% for companies with more than 5,000 employees and a turnover greater than 1.5B€, and 70% for those with a turnover greater than 5B€). Any company that does not respect the payment deadlines will be refused the State guarantee. These loans are guaranteed by the BPI, which significantly increases its level of guarantees.
Solidarity Fund of one billion euros, which can be subscribed to by other players (private companies, local authorities), to support companies with less than one million euros in turnover and annual taxable profit of less than 60k€ (micro-entrepreneurs, very small businesses, liberal professions), who are obliged to interrupt their activity or have a loss of turnover of 70% compared to March 2019. These businesses will benefit from a lump sum of 1500€ (automatic payment by the DGFiP, at the beginning of April).

o An ordinance will make it possible, also for SME, the self-employed and micro-entrepreneurs, to defer their gas and electricity bills without being penalized.

o The government announced a 4B€ support plan for start-ups, including:

80M€, financed by the Programme d’investissements d’avenir (PIA) and managed by BPI France, in order to finance bridges between two fund-raising events,
State-guaranteed treasury loans of up to twice the France 2019 payroll or, if higher, 25% of annual turnover, as for other companies. Backed by the 300B€ Exceptional State guarantee (as previously mentioned), these loans are distributed by both private banks and BPI France, which is launching a dedicated product,
Accelerated reimbursement by the State of corporate tax credits refundable in 2020, including the research tax credit (CIR) for the year 2019, and VAT credits,
Accelerated payment of the AIP innovation aid already allocated but not yet paid out, for an estimated total amount of 250M€,
The French government also maintains, through BPI France, its support for innovative companies with nearly 1.3B€ of innovation aid planned for 2020 (grants, repayable advances, loans, etc.).