French companies must be helped in their automation drive

French industrial companies are not very automated compared with those in other countries. Yet it is well known that a high level of automation is linked to a large industry, i.e. limited offshoring and high export market shares. Moreover, automation is currently the means to correct the loss of productivity caused by the new health constraints due to the COVID crisis. Therefore, there is an urgent need for policies in favour of automation: Tax incentives related to the purchase of robots; Transformation of corporate debt, which have risen sharply during the crisis, into equity or quasi-equity. It must also be understood that automation is not associated with unemployment, on the contrary in fact.