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Anticipated for weeks as a potential investor in the world's number three container shipping, the Strategic Investment Fund (ISF) had remained silent about its real intentions. The team installed the TFB have advanced in their thinking. "Investing in CMA CGM enters our mission," says one to the ISP. While specifying a timetable: "We will file a second time when the company has restructured its debt." There is no question that the public fund to intervene in the negotiations currently taking place.

The ISP also said it will invest "alongside other investors. The process of at-gmentation capital has been committed, but he is preparing. Already several investors have expressed interest. The Louis Dreyfus Group is ready to review the case.But is the financial side of the expressions of interest are most numerous. Apart from the ISP, Goldman Sachs, Butler Capital and Apollo funds are on track.

Largest private employer in Marseille

Jacques Saade, chief founder of CMA CGM, has suggested that the capital increase would be about 300 to 400 million dollars. The ISP does not comment on that amount but said that the lump sum will depend on "the business plan and successful debt restructuring.

The financial support announced the ISP is a strong political signal. It aims to inform the State will play its role to prevent the fall of this group with strategic issues. It is a large group of global maritime trade and the largest private employer in Marseille.CMA CGM is also an actor who plays a key role in the French port activity, strong competition from major ports in the North and the Mediterranean, including Barcelona.

Expected to help the ISP comes as very complex negotiations between creditors, the Saade family, and the government regarding the debt were held Thursday morning at Bercy.

In reality, the parties will simultaneously run a dual operation. This is firstly to allow the ocean carrier to meet its deadlines financial year end. An injection of new money is necessary. Creditors, sixty banks are naturally sought.

The negotiations are tight. The possible aid would be accompanied by the establishment of a new manager operational very quickly, even before the completion of the capital increase.In this scenario, Jacques Saade, current chairman of the board, could become chairman of the supervisory board or become chairman of the board if the governance structure is changed.

Meanwhile, negotiations have focused on restructuring the debt estimated at 5.6 billion dollars. The objective of the parties is able to determine the amount of debt, primarily the purchase of boats that can carry the group based on the level of activity expected in the short and medium term CMA CGM.

From there, the creditors will negotiate mechanisms to reduce this debt: the abandonment of a portion of the debt, a conversion of debt into shares or deferred interest payments. This restructuring is a very difficult operation.It must indeed convince many creditors, including Korean banks to review their commitments.

CMA CGM has to clarify the pattern selected and the terms of the financial restructuring December 15 at a works group. The deadlines are tight.

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The number of overtime-exempt expenses remained virtually unchanged in the third quarter 2009 compared to the previous one, according to latest statistics from the ACOSS, the federation Urssaf. It now stands at 166.8 million hours, equivalent to 300 000 more than the second quarter. On a year because of the crisis requires, however, it drops by 9.2% but with very strong variations by sector of activity.

In industry, traditionally strong consumer of overtime, and the decline exceeds 20% a year, particularly in the metals and fabricated metal products (- 30.6%).

The downturn is intensifying in the construction, it also adept overtime, since the decline reached 9.1% year, four points lower than the second quarter.

The decline was however more moderate in services, – 5.5% a year, mainly because of reduced degradation in the interim (- 30.3%, after – 47% in the second quarter).

Small firms resist

The amount of overtime was ultimately declined less in very small (- 0.2% in one year) than in large (-12.1%) companies "because of the very small proportion of which remained 39 hours, have a structural use of overtime ", says ACOSS in its statement.

The annual decline is also evident in all departments. To the north and east of the hexagon that the decline is greater (less than – 13%) while the Ile-de-France and most departments of the South experiencing moderate declines in the number overtime (between 0 and – 13%).

Only a few departments, Corsica and the Mediterranean (Languedoc-Roussillon, Gard, Var …) actually experience a slight increase of about 10%.

In total, nearly 40% of companies today continue to seek exemptions from overtime, the lowest rate recorded since the entry into force of the measure contained in legislation Tepa in summer 2007. The more companies are consuming less than 10 employees have benefited from 29.5% to 673.1 million euros granted in the third quarter. The larger the company, the less the volume of aid is therefore the more than 2 000 employees affecting only 8.6% of the total.

This is Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, which has reignited the debate. In a letter to Eric Woerth November 17, he "drew attention" of the budget minister on charges that the state charges the communities for the collection of local taxes and he wants to be "put an end to a situation unsound. "

To understand what it is exactly, we must consider the complex relationships that are formed between the state and municipalities, counties and regions in the field of taxation. The tax, at Bercy, is responsible for the communities of calculation and collection of the housing tax, property tax and business tax (TP). In exchange, the state gets a share of local taxes paid by households and firms, namely 4.4% of the amount for "cost of assessment and recovery.Moreover, the State takes a second "commission", set at 3.6% local tax (excluding tax housing the primary residence). These "adjustment costs and non-values". By what justification does it? By the fact that when a taxpayer pays a tax less burdensome than the regular rate because, for example, its low-income (and therefore entitled to relief), the State compensates for this shortfall to municipalities, counties or regions. Overall, with these two committees, 5 billion leave the funds in the state and communities and beyond. In a region like the Côtes-d'Armor, costs were 12.24 million in 2008 out of local taxes of 169 million, a levy of 7.2%.

Inextricable relationship

In Paris, the bill reached 185 million in 2008 and 215 in 2009, a levy of 6.4%.And most importantly, after its mayor, "the total amount collected from taxpayers Parisian clearly exceeds the costs actually incurred by the State for these operations." Bertrand Delanoë supports its contention on the last annual report of the Court of Auditors, which denounces billing on the first commission. At 4.4%, the costs of assessment and recovery are very remote from the actual costs of administration for the State, the Court amounts to 1.75% on property taxes. In 2006, an audit report of modernization precisely estimated these costs at 1.9% for property taxes to 3.86% for the housing tax and 0.9% for TP. "The State communities overcharged 1.3 billion euros a year," says rebels on the Assembly of departments of France (ADF).

Nevertheless, the Court of Auditors in its report explains that the Second Committee, on the rebates … is it under-billed.At Bercy, it says the same thing and adds that overall, the balance is negative: "The state pays 16 billion of relief to communities and supports 2 billion cost management. But it only pulls 5 billion of total costs. "

On the community side, this argument makes leap. "The government will decide on tax concessions. It is normal that the state compensates us! "Storm-t-on to the Association of Mayors of France (AMF).

Reforming the business tax may resolve this dispute. To compensate for the loss of revenue, local governments should recover 2.1 billion cost of assessment and recovery. The cursor could even climb to the Senate. Finally, the only gain nothing will … taxpayers.

"Sarkozy denounces the" fiscal insanity "in regions