2023-11-09 18:56:54
Shells intended for French Caesar artillery cannons used by the Ukrainian armed forces, in the Forges de Tarbes workshop, April 4, 2023. LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP
From housing… to weaponry. Very largely dedicated to financing social housing, the Livret A – the most popular regulated savings product with an outstanding amount of 405 billion euros – could also be used to support companies in the defense sector. As part of the examination of the 2024 finance bill, the expenditure component of which was adopted with a new 49.3, an amendment was slipped in at the last minute on Tuesday November 7 by the president of the National Defense and Forces Commission. armed forces of the National Assembly, Thomas Gassilloud (Renaissance, Rhône), in order to “direct” savings towards SMEs and SMIs of the defense industrial and technological base (BITD) comprising 4,000 companies, half of which are very large for the armies.
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Mr. Gassilloud and the two other signatories – Christophe Plassard (Horizon, Charente-Maritime), who also proposed a specific, tax-free booklet to finance defense companies, and Jean-Louis Thiériot (LR, Seine-et-Marne) – had made a first attempt this summer by introducing the amendment into the 2024-2030 military programming bill. Against the advice of the Ministry of Finance, which saw this as a dangerous precedent. At the end of July, the Constitutional Council rejected the amendment on the grounds that it “legislative rider” had nothing to do with the military programming law.
Savings centralized at the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and intended for social housing will not be affected. Only the 40% collected by the banks, including the Sustainable and Solidarity Development Booklet, will be able to provide funds to BITD companies. The parliamentarians also obtained from the government that it take stock of this initiative. It is part of the“war economy” decreed in June 2022 by the Head of State: in the event of a high intensity conflict, Emmanuel Macron wants to mobilize economic actors likely to contribute to defense.
Reputational risk
“The resumption of this amendment makes it possible to translate this clear political will into a normative and effective act”, reacted Mr. Gassilloud. This should help the defense industry, which has nearly 200,000 employees, often in “dual” companies with civil and military activities. However, start-ups, SMEs and mid-sized companies in the sector are facing refusals of financing to develop, ensure their working capital and export. And sometimes a small company cannot open an account with a local agency.
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