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LE FIGARO. – What do you think of the proposal of François Hollande to fight against the dismantling of French companies?

Jerome Chartier. – I think she will have three effects: be an accelerator of deindustrialization, insofar as an investor does not take the risk now to resume or expand a business in France for fear of not being free to to act. Francois Hollande first puts the brakes, then it must instead press the accelerator. It expresses all the difference between the administered economy, which it promotes, and regulated the economy, which is the one that defends Nicolas Sarkozy. The second effect is the return of any power of attorney of the Commercial Court which, in the early Mitterrand, had helped to give up half of French industry in symbolic franc. And again, it had never prevented or layoffs or the dismantling. Finally, and this is the third effect, this proposal is an absolute breach of property rights remains one of the founding principles of the Republican base.

Nevertheless, 800,000 industrial jobs were lost in France in ten years

.

These numbers are for the period 1998-2008. The dates are important because they correspond to the vote and the implementation of laws 35 hours. Malthusian principle was actually an accelerator relocations to the extent that, when you can not do enough work your employees in France to address the backlog, you produce elsewhere. Since 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy has stepped up to reindustrialise France. In its report released Friday, the OECD also welcome the research tax credit, the elimination of business tax and the status of the freelancer as good structural measures.

VAT can social relaunch "produce in France"?

Yes, it serves to finance a decrease of 12.12% in payroll taxes, but we will continue to do so to produce the same cost or cheaper than our competitors, Germany and Italy, and not China or India as would have us believe the French Francois Hollande.

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TF1 is not abandoning its status string of Formula 1. Monday morning, Laurent-Eric Le Lay, president of Eurosport and patron of sports rights acquisitions for the group TF1, wanted no misunderstanding: "The group intend to compete at the next tender" that launch the FOM (Formula One Management), he said in substance. "We will continue to treat an outstanding Formula 1 in 2012. And in view of the hearings, we will look very carefully the tender. It is true that today we believe that the price paid is very high, or too high fast cash now. " "Given the developments in television in clear, our means are more limited than before," he said.

Each year, the chain headed by Nonce Paolini does not less than 40 million euros to broadcast these competitions, more than two million per Grand Prix. An amount deemed too important by the group, although, on average, hearings Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon are in the chain, to 23.5%, about three million viewers.

On average, hearings Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon are in the chain.

Galeries Lafayette and Casino are at war over control and recovery of Monoprix, they each own half the capital. Philippe Houze, president of Galeries Lafayette and Monoprix, explains for the first time its views on the subject.

LE FIGARO. – Why have you started the process of selling your stake in Monoprix?

Philippe Houzé. – In March 2011, I proposed Casino to renew our partnership for three years. After my numerous reminders, the group let me know the end of September it could grant me one more year. This proposal is a totally inappropriate. I realized that Casino wanted to settle in Monoprix and consolidate the company to 100% in its accounts, without paying the price. Our group can not agree to see and leave the company he founded and directed the last eighty years. If he wishes to take control, Casino has a purchase option at the price of expertise together with a control premium of 21%. He does not want to exercise it. Under these conditions, we have to consider the sale, but the evaluation not be taken as the exercise of our put option.

How do you explain that your participation Casino evaluates to 700 million euros, when you consider it to 1.95 billion?

Our estimate is based on the uniqueness of Monoprix. Fifteen times Ebitda, is the acquisition value of the Dutch Hema, the company that has the profile most similar to ours. Our multiple is only 11. As for the valuation of Monoprix Casino, it is very worrying. It is based on a McKinsey report that completely destroys Monoprix saying the group is not equipped to cope with the arrival of supermarkets in the city center and the emergence of e-commerce and its textile business not resist. If Casino do believe that Monoprix is ​​only five times its EBITDA, it leaves me president, I will continue to ensure value creation for shareholders.

Why did you refuse to pass on to Jean-Charles Naouri President of Monoprix?

Wednesday, Casino changed the course of the Board in order to begin, less than an hour later, a communication sequence cleverly orchestrated. In fact, Casino resulted in not being able to present a candidate for President of Monoprix and so was fatal to any other solution than my renewal.

But if Jean-Charles Naouri was a candidate, you would have refused

.

Can you imagine the Galeries Lafayette to accept the head of Monoprix a president who does not believe in the future of the company and who would have all the means to redeem us to devalue our participation at lower price?

Is divorce inevitable?

The attitude of Casino reinforces our idea that it is impossible to continue with a partner in total conflict, which promotes an MTP totally degraded. At the annual meeting of its branch patterns, Casino asked the Deputy CEO of Monoprix not to present his strategic plan, though approved by Jean-Charles Naouri … The current situation is not feasible in the long run. It is damaging to Monoprix, its customers and employees. This conflict affects a major Monoprix and its 20,000 employees fully dedicated to the company. If Jean-Charles Naouri does not accept the values ​​and philosophy of Monoprix, does not comply with the specificity of this format, the company will not resist.

Are you ready to negotiate?

We do not seek to negotiate. We want to return to legality, that is to say, enforce the protocol and allow JP Morgan to evaluate independently Monoprix. Casino tries to block this process. I was reappointed for one year as President of Monoprix. The statutes allow me to be extended four more times. I assume all my functions. Our goal is that Monoprix is ​​run by people who believe in the company, its officers, its values, and are determined to make it succeed. Casino will not, by devious means, take control of Monoprix, because the company would be hostile.

Are you still willing to buy out Casino in Monoprix?

Wednesday, Galeries Lafayette reiterated their offer on Feb. 10 at Casino redeem its share to 1.35 billion euros. I'm surprised that this proposal was not presented to the Board of Casino, I'm a member and including Galeries Lafayette are the third largest shareholder. Jean-Charles Naouri assured me that the offer would be discussed at council Monday. We have the means to finance the offer, if accepted.

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It is a repudiation for the Competition Authority. The institution, which had inflicted 385 million euro fine in September 2010 with the main banks operating in France on their pricing of check processing, has seen its decision questioned by the Court of Appeal of Paris. In a ruling Thursday, the latter took the view that in this case, "the grievances of Understanding (…) can not be accepted" and that the banks concerned "should therefore be exonerated ".

The case dates back to the early 2000s, when banks have embarked on the computerization of processing checks. They are then granted to establish interchange fees, naturally passed on to end customers.

Fines must be repaid to banks

Banks have justified the introduction of these fees, which were abolished in 2007, the cost that they accounted for the modernization effort of check processing. One argument considered to be unfounded by corporate treasurers, who saw the impact fees.

In September 2010, the Competition Authority found in favor of the latter, and denounced an agreement on final prices payday loan. A vision not shared by the Court of Appeal of Paris, sought by banks complained, BPCE, Post Bank, BNP-Paribas, the National Confederation of Credit Mutuel, Crédit Agricole, Crédit du Nord, CIC, LCL HSBC France, Societe Generale.

In its reasoning, it considers that the commissions were "directly related to the new system paperless exchange of checks, public interest project neutral in terms of competition law …". It also believes that the Bank Agreement does not constitute "an agreement on final prices."

The Competition Authority may lodge an appeal. When asked, a spokesman said the institution consider what action would give the matter. Fines paid to the Treasury must be repaid to the banks.  

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Inequalities between men and women die hard. On wages, women continued to earn 20% less than men in 2009, INSEE said Wednesday in its latest publication on employment and wages. If this gap has narrowed significantly since 1954 (he was then 35%), it is virtually stagnant since the early 1990s.

This inequality is calculated based on hours of work the same for men and women. But if one takes into account the number of hours actually worked over the year, the gap increases again, due to the higher proportion of women working part-time while they earn nearly 30% of less than men. Positive, however, wage inequality tends to be reduced in less than 25 years.

INSEE explains this persistent inequality by "a qualifying structure" different from each sex. More men, for example, are managers (19% against 12% of women). Even within the same occupational category, inequalities remain payday loans. And sometimes compounded: a female manager in the private sector and 23% earn less than men.

Involuntary part-time

This is partly the effect of the famous "glass ceiling" that prevents women from accessing certain positions. It is also, according to INSEE, the resulting choice of training, industries or career operated by women. Many of them, for example, moving towards the sectors of health or social work, pay less.

The highest proportion of female part-timers do not necessarily result also a choice, especially motivated by family reasons. Even among those who have no children, the proportion of part-time employees is 17% higher than that of men. A figure that reflects the overrepresentation of women in the service sector, where part-time is more widespread.

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Just arrived in Brussels Monday afternoon, Christine Lagarde has distributed the good report was expected of her: "Greece has clearly made major efforts … Now, we need others to do so efforts, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to work on these bases. "But the CEO was well refrained from giving any indication of the magnitude of the amounts that the Fund might have to put in the pot.

Curiously the German Jörg Asmussen, one of six board members of the European Central Bank (ECB), had announced yet for granted: "We Europeans are waiting (IMF) participate again in height third of the new program "(130 billion euros). This is totally excluded, it says in the entourage of the patron saint of the IMF.

Gone are the days when Dominique Strauss-Kahn had established de facto, in spring 2010, a totally new principle, that the IMF would participate in up to one third in terms of aid to Greece and Ireland and Portugal, the Europeans providing the other two thirds. This rule was applied to the latter two countries, but not quite to Greece where the IMF in assistance loans was only 27%.

And for good reason. It was noted in Washington that the loans in Athens have already exceeded the usual ratios: a country can not receive aid exceeding ten times its share capital to the IMF, according to an unwritten rule but was consistently observed for more sixty years. However, the facilities already enjoyed by Greece reach a multiple of 25.

Accountable

Second difficulty, according to the Wall Street Journal on Monday, the latest "Report on the debt sustainability" would show that by 2020 the ratio was 129% instead of 120% which are considered the maximum allowable. If teams Fund refuse to confirm the risk of skidding, the better to reaffirm that it is imperative that the limit of 120%.

Christine Lagarde, more than ever needs to be accountable to all its 187 shareholder countries, including the United States, which have veto power. While Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary, said Sunday that "the United States encourage the IMF to support the agreement (European)". But this does not mean that his country is ready to increase the capacity of the Fund.

The Deputy Tim Geithner even said last Thursday before the Senate, he was no question that Washington is participating in the strengthening of the IMF, including Christine Lagarde has officially set the bar at $ 500 billion. Remember that this project all the countries of Southern Europe that the IMF might have to rescue them.

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A new episode is crucial for Greece plays Monday in Brussels. Finance ministers of the euro area must agree on the second bailout, 130 billion euros. They must also erase the floor on 50% of the debt with private creditors, or 100 billion euros. Crunch time for Athens to meet March 20 to maturity of debt of 14.5 billion.

Representatives of the ECB and finance ministries have called yesterday to advance to the final details. But many European leaders showed their confidence in recent days. Just yesterday, the Austrian finance minister, Maria Fekter, was upbeat about a deal: "For now, we will exactly in that direction." Even if it recognizes that "there will be intense negotiations on control mechanisms. "  

For its part, the Greek government keeps its commitments: Saturday it approved the final plan for additional savings, amounting to 325 million euros (cuts in pensions, lowering the minimum wage), claimed by the Troika EU-ECB-IMF in exchange for the release of funds.

With the deadline approached, the Greeks were again called upon to take to the streets yesterday. But austerity exhausted, they no longer have the heart to manifest. The depredations committed a week earlier in the center of Athens in small groups of anarchists-as the burning of a listed building of the nineteenth century, gave a very bad image of the country. And while some still hoped to then change the course of things, the adoption by government austerity measures makes them feel that much is now played.

Attachment to the euro

Under a blazing sun, only three thousand trade unionists from the private and public had traveled to Parliament, meeting under a banner that proclaimed, in Greek: "The policies we require an effort of national unity but there nation has more than when there is more that of the hungry and destitute! "In the crowd, another banner proclaimed in English:" We are all Greeks, Merkel and Sarkozy are freaks! "(" We are all Greeks, Merkel and Sarkozy are crazy! ").

But the protesters do not represent the whole of Greece. Walking through the rural areas of the Peloponnese, we see that the population has resigned itself to the efforts required by the troika of countries. "People here realize that Euroscepticism is leading nowhere and that the output of the euro would be a disaster for everyone," says Le Figaro Petros Tatoulis, the elected president of the region, who gave up any political affiliation. "It is for us now to invent a new model of development and export our fine Mediterranean products under the brand name of the Peloponnese, which is received worldwide as a premium brand." ….. …

A survey shows that 73% of Greeks are in favor of maintaining in the euro area, although only 49% of them believe the country will succeed in the next two years.

The problem now is what political leadership is responsible for the implementation of austerity measures. Elections are scheduled for April. But according to another survey, the two major parties of former coalition government today (PASOK and New Democracy) would collect a total of only a quarter of the votes, the lion's share going to the extreme left. But leaders of the latter have been careful to make any commitments in writing in respect of the troika.

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The Spanish Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos, began talks with the country's banks to reduce the number of foreclosures, which increase with the crisis. It should bring forward proposals to try to avoid eviction of defaulters.

The Conservative government of Mariano Rajoy seized and a sensitive social issue, of concern to all Spaniards and which took up the movement of Indignados. In 2010, 100,000 families were expropriated by Spanish banks for unpaid bills, a number four times higher than in 2007.

This worsening situation is as much a crisis as the structure of the real estate market. In Spain, 83% of the population own their homes, a record in the European Union. Despite a change in attitude since the bursting of the housing bubble, the rental market is still very small.

At the height of the housing boom, banks have extended credit indiscriminately to 100% or more of the property value, and floating rate over periods of up to 40 years.

Bombs

As the seizures, the bankers became the first Realtors in the country. These properties are difficult to sell in a sluggish market, now constitute a time bomb in bank balance sheets payday loans for self employed.

The Bank of Spain on Friday issued the rate of bad loans of Spanish banks. At 7.87% in December 2011, the highest figure since 1994, more than double the rate that prevailed there are still three years. These credits, some of which will never be repaid, mainly concern the real estate sector and amounted to 135.7 billion euros.

Between bad loans and a stock of unsold real estate and land, assets considered "problematic" – as to the uncertain value – totaled 176 billion euros in June 2011.

Financial reform prepared by the Executive aims to clean up the banking sector, the main source of market fears. The aim is to promote the absorption of small structures deficit by leading banks and compel credit institutions to strengthen their reserves of 52 billion euros.

The law was passed Thursday by a large majority of MPs. A sacred union rarely given the urgency of the crisis.

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The Competition Authority celebrates its 25th anniversary, in great shape, according to its President Bruno Lasserre. "We are the most active authority in Europe. The European Commission acknowledges, as it reminds us more and more business, such as the merging Transdev and Veolia or the redemption of Brossette by Point P is still ongoing, "welcomes this member Council of State , who heads the institution since 2004 and until at least March 2014.

The balance sheet of 2011 shows. The Authority fined 420 million euros in fines, almost as much in 2010. The producers of detergents were sentenced to the penalty most important, 367.9 million euros, shared between Procter & Gamble, Henkel and Colgate, who appealed. The second sanctioned firm, Canal +, also challenged his fine of 30 million euros. This issue of the recovery of GST is being reviewed by the Authority.

Less iconic but much more regular – three out of four – are the opinions in mergers and acquisitions. Of a total of 255 cases of concentration, nearly half involved the retail operators have received 207 times the green light. This was the case for the recovery of Habitat Cafom by or for the Republican takeover of Eastern by Crédit Mutuel.

Four sectors continue to retain the attention of the Authority in 2012: the retail, banking, rail transport and the media. After being interested in food distribution, especially in Paris (opinion of 11 January 2012), the Authority will be released in June "the first major survey of the competitive pressure that online retailers have over traditional stores. We will examine the entire chain of online sales: payment, delivering packages or shopping engines, "enumerates Bruno Lasserre.

Another survey conducted by the Authority may make a stir in March, she will speak on the automobile maintenance and repair, market largely controlled by the manufacturers. The extensive work on commissions paid between banks on payment (check, credit card, TIP, transfers …) will also be continued this year with no defined horizon.

The position of Casino in Paris

"The fact that companies bring more resources to challenge our decisions is proof of the relevance of our work, says Bruno Lasserre. Our budget is 20 million euros, an amount equivalent to that booked by banks to defend themselves in the only case of checks, "he says. The Authority considers, however, have "enough tools." However, one missing, the power of injunction. The Authority has certainly since 2008, but it can not exercise it only under three conditions: there must be a dominant position, which the actor in question and persistently abused. Field is too restrictive in the eyes of the institution that claims to have already convinced, left, the candidate Francois Hollande, probably also due to the action of the City of Paris. Because it lacked authority to order the Authority for Casino, which it considers the dominant position in the food market in the capital. Bruno Lasserre however recalled that if Casino decides to exercise its option to purchase 50% of Monoprix, "we would ask conditions, including sales of stores."

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The report by the Center for Strategic Analysis in a housing report released Wednesday is brutal: while the subject of aid mobilizes huge (37 billion euros) from the State and local governments, households the less fortunate spend more on housing. In 2005, they spent at this position 41.4% of their income against 25% in 1988.

To improve the situation of more modest in this area, the Center for Strategic Analysis made several proposals, focused on social housing. "First, it should be that only those who earn more than five times the annual rent for a dwelling may be candidates for living," Chriqui advance Vincent, general manager of that agency of the Prime Minister. A measure of common sense would settle with the current situation today, up 64% of households are eligible for public housing.

To reserve social housing for disadvantaged populations, some only dream of being able to expel those whose income has become, over time, well above the maximum income. This would call into question the sacrosanct principle of the right to remain in public housing, one of the cornerstones of the world HLM. Cautiously, the Center for Strategic Analysis does not follow that direction.

However, he has worked on a system where the rent paid by tenants would be modulated according to their income. "In fact, rents are nominally higher and tenants would receive a grant that would cover some of this burden, says Vincent Chriqui. The premium will be lowered when the tenant would see its revenues increase. "To avoid creating too strong reactions in a world quite restive HLM changes of this kind, this system would first be tested by some social landlords . If the Center for Strategic Analysis recommends this solution is that the devices require tenants whose incomes exceed the ceilings to pay additional rent malfunctioning. Normally, a public housing tenant whose remuneration exceeds 20% of the maximum income to pay a surloyer. "But it is a cumbersome process that requires to initiate proceedings," said Vincent Chriqui. Soft law passed in 2009 plans to evict a tenant of public housing for two successive years if its resources are at least two times higher than the ceiling. But we must wait three years after this observation that the measure could be effective. Result: more than three years after its adoption, the text has yet to produce any effects.

Statistical tool

Last priority recommendation of the Center for Strategic Analysis: Building a statistical tool that emphasizes respect for each program HLM, level of public support and the "discount" rent in the social housing compared to private apartments around the park. "By learning about government subsidies and the results they deliver, this should help to refocus the production of social housing where the need is greatest," says Vincent Chriqui.

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