[ad_1]
Reuters
Stock Photo
French Economy Minister Bruno Lemerre announced that the French airline “Air France” will receive bank loans of 7 billion euros from the country to face the crisis of the Corona virus, but it is not nationalized.
Read more
On Friday, Lumier said the amounts allocated to the airline will consist of 4 billion euros of bank loans guaranteed by 90 percent of the state and another 3 billion of direct loans from the state.
He stressed that “our national company must be saved”, describing this plan as “historic”. But he stressed that the nationalization of the company “is not on the table.”
“Air France” faces a difficult situation due to the suspension of flights of its planes as part of the isolation measures imposed to combat the Corona epidemic.
Lemerre said the measures announced Friday were “to save the 350,000 direct and indirect jobs associated with the company.”
For its part, the airline said in a statement that “these support mechanisms, which are still subject to the approval of the European Commission, will allow the group” Air France Ka La “to ensure the means to fulfill its obligations while its transformation continues. to adapt to a sector in which the global crisis will make great changes. “
Bruno Lemerre confirmed that this support “is not a blank check”. “We have established conditions for Air France. Conditions related to profitability because they are French money, so they must make an effort to be better able to make a profit,” he added.
He also spoke about “environmental conditions”, stressing that “Air France should become the greenest airline in the world.”
In addition, a study is currently underway to provide around € 5 billion of state-guaranteed bank loans to French automaker Renault Group.
According to the French Economy Minister, the value of the bank loan will reach around 5 billion euros, and it will also be 90 percent guaranteed by the state.
Source: AFP
[ad_2]
