The union of French mask manufacturers (F2M) asks public authorities to support French manufacturers, in order to ensure supply in the event of a pandemic, according to a letter consulted by AFP on Wednesday. In a letter sent on November 3 to the President of the Republic and the government, F2M warns “of the complicated situation” of the French mask industry, multiplying the difficulties encountered by producers.
The latest example to date, in mid-October, in Brittany, the Saint-Brieuc commercial court ordered the judicial liquidation of the Coop des masks, created at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. To explain the bankruptcy, the leader of the Coop had cited in particular the imports of Chinese masks, which are cheaper. This is not the only case: “The list is long”, laments Christian Curel, president of the F2M, in this letter. In question, he explains, the lack of solidarity of the buyers, who continue to favor the criterion of price to the detriment of the origin of production.
Sanctions claimed
The union points to the calls for bids made by the communities in 2022 as proof of this, and points in particular to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, which ordered 5 million masks in February, and chose an importer. However, a circular, published at the end of 2021 and sent to all regional health authorities, gave instructions for the purchase of medical devices such as masks and protective gloves. With, in particular, the introduction of a European preference clause for suppliers.
In particular, manufacturers ask for sanctions against establishments that do not follow these instructions. The union also requests that the current tender launched by Santé Publique France for the constitution of a national strategic stock be relaunched, this time to include target prices, that is, minimums.
Finally, he wants to apply a principle of reciprocity: “If countries like China or the United States prohibit their public establishments from acquiring products that are not manufactured in their territory, as is the case with masks, then applying the same rule in Europe is the least we can do.” “Support for the mask industry only costs a few tens of millions of euros a year, and a large part goes directly to the state coffers, directly or indirectly,” defends Christian Curel, himself at the head of a mask company. .
Source: BFM TV
