But for their suppliers it is the Berezina

To the rescue! Thousands of French companies working under contract to the heavy weight of automobile, aeronautics, steel, etc., call to the rescue. They fear that, without an extremely rapid assistance, many of them found soon to the carpet. From the end of the month of January, very precisely. Indeed that the kick-off brutal judgment given by Renault, PSA, ArcelorMittal, etc., will be its most severe financial consequences be is.

"" When these large groups stop their production, as this month, they continue to sell their stock, so to return money, says Yvon Jacob, Chairman of the Group of the industrial federations (GFI). But, for their suppliers, it is the Berezina. In order to provide just in time, they were stocks that remain them on the arms. No sales for a month or a month and a half today, this means not turnover in February-March, taking into account the time of payment.

"A burst of bankruptcy".

A hole air catastrophic for direct suppliers of manufacturers, as Faurecia (read below), and ranks second or third suppliers even more. "They are almost all SMEs, whose debt represents on average 90 of own funds." With such debt, they cannot obtain bank credit. "If nothing is done, there will be three months a flurry of yet viable business bankruptcies", is alarm Yvon Jacob. A perspective which some are already preparing in the image of the manufacturer of parts plastic Plastivaloire, which has to take the opportunity to buy some competitors badly ("Les Echos" of yesterday). And, across Europe, several groups have already fallen, as the manufacturer of brakes TMD Friction, just submit the balance sheet of its German subsidiaries, or the British Wagon Automotive, which employs more than 3,000 people in France.

The representatives of the subcontractors have attempted to alert the public authorities. They hoped measures in the recovery plan presented by Nicolas Sarkozy on 4 December. They were disappointed. The new premium case will not solve the problem just months. On future Automotive Investment Fund, it has, it seems, find it difficult to put in place. "The time that he created, the most fragile enterprises will be dead", summarized on the GFI. Similarly, the strategic investment fund, sovereign fund French set to see the day, will not take interests in all key tried subcontractors, after its first investment in Daher.

AREVA and Thales unite

To avoid the worst, all automotive suppliers wrote Monday a letter to Nicolas Sarkozy requesting a deferral of six months from the payment of the tax of the subcontractors, and better support of partial unemployment by State and social emergency.

But the order donors also have their role to play. Some, such as Areva or Thales, begin to mobilize. The defence, aerospace and security group thus implemented a warning system to detect the risks of failure in its many subcontractors. Same device at the Safran aerospace OEM. AREVA is willing, in turn, to invest in some of its suppliers. Because major industrialists know: some of the SMEs which will disappear because of the automotive crisis may miss them tomorrow, when it will be successful major sites in nuclear power, aeronautics, rail, etc.