Coronavirus: Your Rights and Obligations During the Lockdown

Can I open my own store?

In accordance with government guidelines, non-essential businesses are not permitted to open. Thus, florists are not included among the businesses listed in the decree of March 16 and are therefore required to close.

For now, the lockdown is scheduled to last 15 days and may be extended depending on how the public health situation evolves. 

What economic support measures am I eligible for?

To prepare for the economic consequences of the lockdown, the government has already put in place a series of measures to support economic activity and compensate for revenue losses resulting from mandatory closures. 

1. Payment Deadline for Social Security Contributions

Special measures regarding payment deadlines for your social security and tax obligations. If you are an employer, you have three months to fulfill your obligations to URSSAF.

If you are self-employed, you may be eligible for the following programs:

• Obtaining a payment term without delay or penalties;
• An adjustment to the contribution schedule to account for the anticipated decline in earned income;
• Partial or full coverage of contributions through the provision of exceptional financial assistance by social services. 

2. Request a deferral of your taxes

If you are a business, you can request a a deferral of your due dates without penalty, object to the SEPA direct debit if you still have the opportunity to do so, or request a refund. 

If you are self-employed, you can request a deferral of your monthly withholding. This request must be submitted by the 22nd of each month; any requests submitted after that date will be processed for the following month. Instructions are available on the website impots.gouv.fr, under the “My Withholdings” section.

More information

3. Short-time work measures

In the event of a difficult economic situation, you can take advantage of short-time work measures, which will be simplified and strengthened.

As a reminder, the employer continues to pay 70% of the employee’s gross salary and receives compensation from the ASP in the amount of €7.74 per hour per employee. This compensation has been increased to €8.04 per hour.

Employees receive an hourly allowance from their employer equal to approximately 70% of their gross pay (about 84% of their net hourly pay).

To be eligible for this program, you must create an online account at the following link.

4. Rescheduling of Loans and Guarantee Funds

In principle, you may be eligible for a loan rescheduling; feel free to contact your bank to learn more. If your request is denied, the Banque de France provides a credit mediation mechanism to assist you with the process. However, there is a good chance that your bank has already implemented exceptional measures to support businesses. 

At the same time, the BPI has established a credit guarantee program for banks to support lending to small businesses.

Finally, the government has established a 1 billion euro solidarity fund for small businesses that lose more than 70% of their revenue between March 2019 and March 2020.
Also, and this is important, it appears that, as a florist, you are eligible for this lump-sum payment in any case since your business was required to close for public health reasons—even if you do not meet the first criterion.
We therefore encourage you to contact the DGFIP to claim your entitlement to the Solidarity Fund, which guarantees a lump-sum payment of 1,500 euros starting March 31.

Summary of Measures Taken by the Government

As a reminder, here is a summary of the emergency measures taken by the government:

• Establishment of payment deadlines for social security and/or tax obligations (URSSAF, taxes); 
• In the most difficult situations, direct tax abatements may be granted following an individualized review of applications;
• Support from the government and the Bank of France (credit mediation) to negotiate a rescheduling of bank loans with your bank;
• Bpifrance’s efforts to secure the bank credit lines that businesses may need due to the pandemic;
• Preserving jobs in companies through the simplified and enhanced short-time work program;
• Support from the business mediator in resolving a dispute with customers or suppliers;
• The recognition by the government and local authorities of the coronavirus as a force majeure event for their public procurement contracts. Consequently, for all public procurement contracts awarded by the government and local authorities, late-payment penalties will not be applied;
• The suspension of water, gas, and electricity bills and rent payments for small businesses facing the greatest difficulties, as well as the suspension of their taxes and social security contributions.

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