With the radiant weather at the start of spring, Claude (the first name has been changed), 49, a management consultant, has the feeling of having gone back a year. “It’s the same time, I’m in the same place, behind the same computer, and I continue to run my business with only two or three months in front of me. This lack of visibility prevents me from sleeping, he recounts. So far I have only survived thanks to the solidarity fund [FDS]. The aid made it possible to extend the deadline, but, financially, I am at the same point. If they stop, without a new customer, it will be liquidation. ”
Especially since this expert in business transformation, installed for ten years in a one-person company, in March 2021 left the list – moving and complex – of companies eligible for the FDS. “But ultimately, it seems that Bercy could extend further… What would restore our confidence and sleep would be that the State announces that it will guarantee aid until the end of August for everyone. There we could finally see it coming. “
Claude is one of these three million self-employed people in the country, with various legal statuses – all people who have a Siret number are considered independent, whether they are in sole proprietorship, in SASU (simplified single-person joint stock company). ), SARL (limited liability company), or microentrepreneurs – who are now looking for a little air in the crisis.
Health measures constantly modified, lack of visibility of their customers, reduction of budgets allocated to communication, marketing or events, sectors where they are very represented … the difficulties accumulate for these professionals on their own account, at the minimum social coverage due to the fact that they do not contribute to the compulsory scheme. No unemployment insurance, no daily sickness benefits and no collective pension scheme. To top it all off, the operation of the Solidarity Fund, which was fluid until December 2020, was seriously seized up in early 2021.
“A precarious situation, with debts”
“I haven’t had a single client for a year, but I haven’t received any help since December”, testifies Constance de Gabory, scenographer-visual artist, among thousands of people in the same case. The strengthening of the FDS, which took place in November, led Bercy to strengthen the upstream controls at the same time, in order to avoid abuses. But this translates into an implementation of rare complexity for the beneficiaries. “Processing times can be up to 60 days”, observes Hind Elidrissi, president of the Indépendants.co union, created just on the eve of the crisis. “There are a lot of automatic refusals. Some requests dating from the end of January are still pending. “
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