To address the economic consequences of the war in the Middle East, Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou announced on Monday that the state will cover the costs of partial unemployment measures, totaling around 70 million euros.
Long-term partial activity measures (APLD), allowing companies to reduce their employees’ workload while keeping them employed, had been implemented during the COVID-19 crisis starting in 2020 and at the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022. However, new similar measures could not be put in place since early 2023.
During an interview on Franceinfo, the minister stated his readiness to “implement partial unemployment measures to support companies experiencing a decrease in activity, which are actually quite rare at the moment, meaning that activity is holding up fairly well.”
“All companies are eligible for partial unemployment,” explained Jean-Pierre Farandou, adding, “We will pay particular attention to companies affected by what is happening in Iran.”
Last Friday, the government announced a targeted aid plan of over 70 million euros for sectors most impacted by the surge in fuel prices such as fishing, agriculture, and transportation.
“The effort the state is making in terms of partial unemployment, which is funded by the Ministry of Labor, complements the effort to reduce fuel costs in certain sectors that are heavy consumers of fuel,” Farandou emphasized.
He also mentioned, “We will allocate this new budget line of around 70 million euros and see how it progresses throughout the year. But regardless, we will try to maintain deficit reduction,” stressing that “there is no magic money, and the government is not sitting on a fortune.”
Regarding the review of travel expenses for independent nurses, he stated, “We will assess what is possible.”
