The European Commission approved, on Friday 15 October, under EU state aid rules, a €700 million French scheme to support certain retailer and services affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The restrictive measures put in place to limit the spread of the virus resulted in a direct decline in the turnover of the companies involved, whereas their costs, especially rent and other fixed costs, could not be adjusted downwards.
The scheme will be open to certain retail outlets (furniture, clothing, IT, sports goods, opticians, jewellers) and some services (repair of personal and household goods, hairdressing and beauty care) which were required to close down for periods between February and May 2021.
Eligible beneficiaries will be able to obtain compensation in the form of direct grants for an amount not exceeding the amount of rent paid during the closure periods, minus, where applicable, any revenue from an increase in online sales and other forms of compensation, such as amounts paid out by insurance companies.
In order to avoid overcompensation for losses incurred, the scheme also provides for a compensation cap for companies which were already recording losses in 2019, companies with a high proportion of online sales and companies receiving more than €4 million in aid per month. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)