The post-Covid period continues to weaken businesses in Lorraine, and particularly in the Vosges. Guest of France Bleu Lorraine this Monday morning, Jacques Leroy, president of the Epinal commercial court, reports 300 payment suspensions expected for the year 2024. Either an increase of 5 to 10% compared to the year 2019, the last reference before Covid, and even 40% if we compare to the year 2023. While the loans guaranteed by the State must still be repaid.
The building on the front line
At the top of the most impacted sectors, construction unsurprisingly finds itself in the leading pack. “Less construction starts, less construction of individual houses“, justifies Jacques Leroy, who also mentions the clothing sector. “There is also competition, distance selling, Internet, so these are sectors which are suffering“, he describes.
Among the most affected geographic sectors, that of Plombières-les-Bains unfortunately stands out from the crowd, linked to the difficulties of the thermal baths, closed for too long and no longer attracting tourists. “This obviously impacts the economic activity of the sector. When we refer to the 2020s, the empty period, which was very complicated for businesses, was very very helped by both loans and URSSAF or Treasury contributions which actually had payment delays, but came behind the increases in raw materials and increases in energy which have had a very strong impact on large-consuming industrial companies.“
