“We are worried,” acknowledges the CPME after the victory of the New Popular Front

Entrepreneurs are particularly concerned about the increase in the minimum wage defended by the left-wing alliance.

“We are worried”, recognized the president of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME) François Asselin, Monday July 8 on franceinfo, after the victory of the New Popular Front in the legislative elections. “In economic matters”, the program of the New Popular Front “has something a little worrying for businesses”according to him.

“We, entrepreneurs, need stability, readability, visibilityhe explained. We find ourselves in a democratic situation where we have lost all three.” “In economic terms, we need this to invest, to hire, to recruit,” he added. The increase in the minimum wage to 1,600 euros net, one of the flagship measures of the left-wing alliance, will “weaken our economy”, he estimated. “Cleanliness, personal services, security, these are professional branches, professional sectors which only sell hourly rates for labor, which are in extremely competitive markets,” he said. In the event of the repeal of the pension reform, another pillar of the NFP program, François Asselin said he fears “an immediate reaction” steps.

The day after a vote in which no political camp obtained an absolute majority in the National Assembly, François Asselin concedes that businesses are like “in suspension”. With a left-wing coalition coming out on top but without a relative majority, two risks, according to him, are emerging: “A somewhat radical economic policy, which will frighten all economic players. The other risk is that nothing will happen, but the country needs to move.”

After the dissolution, the employers’ organisations had all denounced the economic risks linked to certain programmes and the fragility of public finances, while France’s debt had increased to almost 3.160 billion euros at the end of March. “While things are a bit chaotic at the political level, the end of the chaos should not be announced from outside, namely our creditors.”he worried.