Coronavirus: France could nationalise big companies if necessary, says finance minister
The French government is prepared to “use all means available” to support big companies struggling with the impact of market turmoil linked to coronavirus, including nationalisation, the finance minister said today.
“I won’t hesitate to use all means available to protect big French companies,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on a call with journalists this morning.
“That can be done by recapitalisation, that can be done by taking a stake, I can even use the term nationalisation if necessary,” he added.
Le Maire did not say which firms could be prioritised in any of the measures he suggested.
The finance minister also welcomed a decision by France’s markets regulator to issue a ban on the short-selling of 92 French stocks today, and said the measure could be extended for up to a month if necessary.
The ban on short-selling — essentially betting that a share’s price will fall — covers 92 of the country’s best-known companies, including Renault, Air France KLM, and BNP Paribas.
Yesterday, the European Union’s markets watchdog tightened disclosure rules surrounding short-selling in the bloc, requiring hedge funds and other investors to give local regulators more information about their short positions.
Earlier today, Le Maire told French radio that the government would mobilise €45bn in crisis measures to help local firms stay afloat through the coronavirus pandemic, including tax and payroll charge deferrals.
He added that the government would soon present a new budget bill to reflect the economic changes brought about by the outbreak, which would be based on a provisional forecast of a one per cent contraction in gross domestic product this year.
The French government has also pledged to guarantee €300bn in new loans to companies, in a move that could reduce banks’ exposure to possible loan losses.