Since July, Patricia Barbizet has been the president of Afep, an association bringing together the 117 largest French private companies.
LE FIGARO. – Growth is weakening, unemployment is rising, geopolitical risks are high… In this context, how are large companies approaching 2024?
Patricia BARBIZET. – On the one hand, the slowdown in inflation is good news for the purchasing power of the French. On the other, a slowdown in activity, the signs of which can be seen in consumption and employment. And interest rates remain high. Faced with this turbulence, large French companies remain very attentive and cautious. We must address these economic difficulties but this must not distract us from our absolute priority: building the world of tomorrow and ensuring that France and Europe play a major role in it.
We face immense challenges: technological and digital disruptions, energy and environmental transition, demographic transition. This requires a massive investment and financing effort from businesses. To meet these challenges, we must stay the course on reforms and, above all, not slow down.
Emmanuel Macron urged business leaders: “ Wake up! “. In fact, you ask him not to sleep on the reforms. What exactly do you expect from him?
The continuation of the supply-side policy. Continue to release the brakes to accelerate. Remove remaining blockages in the labor market. Strengthen public-private cooperation and structurally support innovation and investment. The energy transition will require very significant investments; public and private resources must be combined to finance them. The research tax credit is the perfect example of an effective measure for French research and innovation. So on average, large Afep companies concentrate 45% of their research activities in France, even though they generate a quarter of their turnover there.
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What room for maneuver does the State have, which carries 3,000 billion in debt and has just escaped a downgrade in its rating?
We can already rejoice that France’s rating has been maintained. This decision is above all an encouragement to the modernization of the State. We must take it as a mark of confidence in France’s capacity to transform itself. But this modernization of the State cannot, under any circumstances, involve an increase in taxes in a country which already supports one of the highest rates of compulsory contributions in the world. The key is business competitiveness. It is the engine of growth and therefore of job creation. This is necessary to reduce the public deficit.
The corporate tax rate fell from 33% to 25%. What is still holding back the competitiveness of French companies?
Excessively high costs led to the deindustrialization of France. We can therefore simply talk about catching up. This standardization of taxation has borne fruit by increasing the competitiveness of our businesses and encouraging investment in France. Cost cuts and labor market reforms have stimulated the creation of 2 million private jobs since 2017, and for the first time in a long time, more than 100,000 industrial jobs.
We must not stop along the way. It is essential to pursue the supply-side policy, to continue to lower production taxes to boost “made in France”. The objective remains to develop growth and employment. To do this, we must be constant and consistent in the measures taken. Reforms only bear fruit over time. Consistency creates confidence. And confidence, growth.
Also read: French growth at a standstill for the end of the year
Unemployment is rising while 350,000 jobs remain vacant. Should unemployment compensation rules be tightened?
Afep companies represent 12% of private employment and 17% of the payroll, thanks to salaries above average. However, we still have 350,000 vacant positions, particularly in industry where we are looking for welders, boilermakers, etc. To resolve these tensions, the priority is skills. It is learning that allows training to be developed at all qualification levels. This creates a tremendous social lift in our companies.
It is also the reform of vocational high schools which constitutes both an economic and social issue and it is a major cause for which large companies are fully mobilizing. We will not achieve full employment without placing particular emphasis on training, including in-career professional training.
How will the French be able to work until age 64 if companies get rid of their seniors, as Bruno Le Maire criticizes them?
This criticism is inaccurate. Today the unemployment rate for seniors (5.1%) is lower than that of all workers (7.4%). This means that businesses are there. The employment rate of seniors has increased from 54% to 67% since 2009. Companies, particularly large ones, have increased their efforts to support them and facilitate the transmission of knowledge. To deprive yourself of their skills and experience would be a real waste. Learning to better promote all talents is a requirement for integration and solidarity.
Also read Jean-Pierre Robin: “Full employment means four out of five French people in work, not 5% unemployed”
Germany, long held up as a model, is seizing up. Is this a threat to France?
Germany’s difficulties are not good news: it is our largest economic partner and a key driver of the European economy. Our destinies are linked. Germany faces several structural challenges: the reorganization of international trade; technological breakthroughs and in particular in the automobile industry. It is also looking for answers to its energy dependence and environmental transition.
That said, these challenges are global and also face all European countries. Because the Americans and the Chinese did not wait for us and have already provided very strong responses. China is electrifying and transforming itself at a rapid pace, and the United States, which has energy two to three times cheaper than in Europe, has provided a massive response with the IRA to attract industrial and have the advantage. If we want to avoid falling behind the United States and China, Europe must find a collective response.
