1. Home
  2. Coronavirus in France : FAQs

Coronavirus in France : FAQs

19 March 2020

Coronavirus in France : FAQs

(Updated 18 March 2020)

Until further notice, all Trotting, Flat and Jump race meetings have been suspended from 17 March to 15 April 2020. We are fully aware of the economic impact of cancelling race meetings. For this reason, France Galop and leTROT have put in place an information feedback system that will facilitate the communication between the various trades and the organising authorities.

For this reason, over the next number of weeks we are asking the professional associations to collect and pass on relevant information, trade by trade. This will be the first step in safeguarding our industry.

LeTrot and France Galop teams are already teleworking, and we will continue to supply information as the epidemic develops.

 

  • Employer/Employee relationship

 

Authorisation of travel between home and workplace

Until further notice, from 17 March and for at least two weeks, the Government has taken measures to reduce contact and travel to the strict minimum across France.

Exemptions are possible for travel between home and workplace, when the work in question cannot be carried out from home (on permanent proof) or where the travelling of professionals cannot be deferred. The daily care of horses meets the above criteria.

The derogatory travel certificate and the proof of professional travel can be written on plain paper or can be downloaded on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.

The two documents needed for travelling are:

  • Individual certificate of derogatory travel can be downloaded by clicking here or can be written on plain paper
  •  
  • Proof of professional travel can be downloaded by clicking here

All the information can be found on the website of the Ministry of the Interior on:

https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/

                                                                                      

Information for employers and employees:

To combat the COVID-19 epidemic, the Government is reinforcing and simplifying the system for employees and businesses affected by the coronavirus.

Information is available on the website of the Ministry of employment. https://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/actualites/presse/communiques-de-presse/article/coronavirus-covid-19-et-monde-du-travail

You can also download the regularly updated and very comprehensive document of the French Ministry of Employment  Questions/réponses pour les entreprises et les salariés 

 

Absence from work when contaminated

If you or a family member who is working with you has been exposed to the virus, you can apply for sick leave on the dedicated website https://declare.ameli.fr/. This service is open to people working in the non-salaried agricultural sector.

If this is your case, the medical consultant will prescribe a work stoppage and the MSA will pay you the Amexa daily allowance. As with employees, daily allowances are paid under the conditions applicable to sick leave and from the first day of sick leave (without application of the waiting period and without checking the conditions for entitlement).

You will find more information on work stoppage and the coronavirus on:

https://www.msa.fr/lfy/sante/coronavirus

 

 

Exemptions from charges and taxes

Companies that are struggling to pay charges and taxes as a direct result of the measures put in place to fight COVID-19, can apply for a payment delay or a direct tax rebate, in particular for the corporation tax instalment of March 16.

To facilitate the procedure, the DGFIP provides companies with a request form to be sent to their corporate tax department.

You can download the form, complete it and send it back to the corporate tax department https://lannuaire.service-public.fr/navigation/sie that you depend on: click here to download

The website https://www.gouvernement.fr/info-coronavirus also mentions a direct tax rebate for companies that are threatened with disappearance due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

There is, however, currently no further information available regarding this measure.

 

Use of partial unemployment

To launch the procedure of partial unemployment, first you must put in place partial activity. This will allow the employer, who has no option but to place his employees into partial activity, to make an application with the territorial unit of the regional office of companies, competition, consumption, labour and employment (Direccte) for a prior authorisation for partial unemployment and to obtain compensation.

Companies where employees don’t have an official representative, must inform their employees that they are placing the company into partial activity.

Before starting partial activity, the employer has to contact the Direccte of the department where the company is based to apply online for a prior authorisation for partial activity https://lannuaire.service-public.fr/navigation/sie

After entering the business identification (SIRET) number, registration is free.

The application has to include:

  • The motive justifying the recourse to partial activity
  • The foreseeable period of reduced activity
  • The number of employees concerned

The Direccte has to inform the employer within 48 hours (usually 15 days) of its decision.

 

The employer can follow the progress of his request online and will be notified of the decision by email.

In the absence of a notification within the time limit, the authorisation shall be considered as obtained.

A decision to refuse must be supported by reasons.

If the decision is favourable, the employer can put his employees into partial activity and start the claims for compensation online every month.

 

MSA Employer contributions

If your next payment date is between 15 and 31 March, you can postpone all or parts of your contributions. There will be no penalties.

1st case: you pay monthly

MSA will not take any payments on your March payment date. You don’t need to take any action.

2nd case: you don’t pay monthly

The payment deadline for your next provisional instalment is postponed until further notice.

Information will be sent to you at a later date regarding the measures that are going to be implemented in April.

 

  • Horse racing companies and training centres

 

Will the racing offices remain open?

Just like any other company, at the request of the Government as part of the containment measures implemented on 17 March, racing offices must reduce as much as they can the workforce on site by only employing staff that is in charge of maintenance work that cannot be postponed, in particular the maintenance of the grass gallops.

 

Can trainers that are based at the public training centres take out their horses to train them with consideration of the safety instructions relating to COVID-19?

Yes, trainers that are permanently based at the public training centres have the right to take out their horses for minimum work but must respect the instructions of the training centre (timetables, limited access to the gallops, etc.), which will operate with reduced staff in order to guarantee a minimum maintenance of the tracks.

Safety instructions must be respected within the yards and when riding out. Trainers have to try and use their time to such an extent (where it is possible) that there are no big gatherings of horses and people, for example at the area where horses walk after having worked or before receiving the morning instructions.

As with anyone who does not show symptoms of the virus, lads and lasses don’t have to wear masks in the yard or while riding out.

Enclosed common areas (rooms, offices, etc..) must be closed.

In open common areas (platforms, headlands, etc..) safety distances have to respected.

Trainers who have their own private training facilities are not allowed to come and work their horses at public training centres, which are strictly open only to horses from stables that are part of the training centres.

 

  • Hygiene

 

At work and in daily life, you must comply with the recommendations of the official information sites on the coronavirus:

 

Does wearing rubber gloves prevent the infection with the new coronavirus?

No. Washing your hand regularly protects you more against COVID-19 than wearing rubber gloves. The virus can be on the gloves and there is a risk of contamination if you touch your face whilst wearing the gloves. Regarding in particular people who work with horses, it is recommended that they wash hands with soap or disinfectant gel between each horse or before touching the equipment.

  • Horses and the coronavirus

 

Can horses get the coronavirus?

The coronavirus or COVID-19 belongs to the coronavirus family which groups together the virus responsible for digestive, respiratory, hepatic or neurological diseases in different species of mammals and birds.

The coronavirus exists in pets (canine respiratory coronavirus, PIF in cats), cattle, pigs and horses.

In horses, cases have been reported since 2010 in Japan and the US and recently in Europe. These are specific viruses, that is to say different for each species. There have been no transmissions reported from horse to human.

The equine coronavirus is contagious for the equine species and is transmitted via the faecal-oral route (different for humans: oro-nasal route).

As a safety measure, in case of any signs of respiratory infection (fever or feeling of fever, coughing, breathing difficulties) or in case of contact with an infected person, you should not approach horses.

 

Is the coronavirus dangerous for horses?

For horses, the disease is sporadic and present in winter, from October to April:

  • Symptoms are: fever, anorexia, prostration. The digestive symptoms result in colic and diarrhoea.
  • The diagnosis is made by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
  • The incubation period is short: 2 to 3 days
  • The disease is short: less than 1 week
  • Excretion and hence the risk of contagion for other horses lasts 2 to 3 weeks.
  • The treatment is symptomatic (infusions, anti-inflammatories, digestive protectors). There is no vaccine
  • Complications are possible: endotoxemia, septicaemia, hyperammonaemia associated with encephalopathies.

 

 

Can I get the virus from a horse?

To date, no transmission from horse to human has been recorded

 

Can I give the virus to a horse?

To date, there has been only one case of human transmission to a dog, but no case of human transmission to a horse.

There is the possibility of depositing the virus via human excretory on horsehair, but according to what is currently known, the virus can only survive in the air for three hours. As a precaution, wash your hands before and after working with the horse and before touching any other horse or equipment.

In case of any signs of respiratory infection (fever or feeling of fever, coughing, breathing difficulties) or in case of contact with an infected person, you should not approach horses.

 

  • Transport of horses during the pandemic

 

Can horses be transported in France?

Currently and until further notice, any kind of movement in France has to be accompanied by documentary evidence provided by the Government.

See the cases authorized for movement here.

In any case, remember to check with the website (yard, stud or other) if movement is possible.

 

Can horses be transported within Europe?

Currently and until further notice, border crossings to several European countries have been stopped and rules are likely to be tightened further. The transportation of horses is therefore not recommended.

 

Can horses be transported to countries outside Europe?

Currently and until further notice, borders to the Schengen area (which includes 26 European countries) are closed.

  • Breeding and reproduction

 

Medical follow-up for covered mares suspended until 1 April 2020

Statement of the CNOV and AVEF from 17 March 2020:

“Taking into account the development of the current health situation, the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and after having consulted the various stakeholders, the CNOV (Council of National Order of Veterinarians) and AVEF (Veterinary Association Equine France) have suspended all non-urgent gynaecological procedures, including follow-ups, for the next two weeks, including 1 April.

Obstetric or post-partum care, which can jeopardize the long-term health or survival of the mare or the foal are not affected by this measure.

This common sense measure is aimed primarily at fighting the spread of the virus and its deleterious consequences in terms of it killing the most vulnerable people and to provide each establishment that receives mares for gynaecological reasons to put in place the barrier and biosecurity procedures.

As the health situation changes daily, we will study the adopted measures over the next two weeks to reassess the conditions for resuming these procedures in a controlled safe environment for veterinarians, owners of the mares and the associated staff. We will contact stakeholders in a week for an update.”

Useful sites:

 

Reproduction

The racing authorities are currently in discussion with the Ministry of Agriculture regarding the transportation of mares for covering purposes. However, this is a complex subject and we have yet to receive a reply.

Therefore, without an official counter-order from the Ministry and until further notice, you can take your mare to be covered by carrying a certificate for “professional activity”, which you can download here.

 

However, it is important to scrupulously respect the Barrier measures, as well as the recommendations drawn up by each stallion handler (staggered presentation only by appointment, no contact with the stud staff, etc..)

Any changes of the situation will be published on this FAQ.

See SEPT recommendations here

 

  • Racing program and prize-money

 

Race meeting suspension

France Galop and leTROT, together with FNCH, are working hard to put in place a coherent racing calendar for when activity resumes.

To date, race meetings are suspended until and including 15 April. Depending on the development of the pandemic and the implemented Government measures, France Galop and LeTROT will continue to inform racing professionals of the progress of the situation.

 

LeTROT - 31 March deadline for trotters who haven’t won the minimum qualifying prize-money that will allow them to compete after this date?

Given the cancellation of all race meetings, minimum qualifying prize-money and requalifications are postponed until further notice.

 

  • Racecourse access

 

Can I go to a racecourse?

Until further notice, race meetings in France have been suspended between 17 March 2020 and 15 April 2020.

Specific information relating to racing professionals, media, service providers and the public is available on the Coronavirus page of the France Galop and LeTROT website.

 

Information is regularly updated :

http://www.france-galop.com/fr/content/infoscoronavirus

https://www.letrot.com/fr/decouvrir-toutes-les-infos

 

I have bought tickets for a France Galop or LeTROT event. How will I know if the event is taking place, is cancelled or postponed?

In order to keep you informed, France Galop and LeTROT have created a special Coronavirus page on their respective websites (http://www.france-galop.com and https://www.letrot.com/fr/). This website is regularly updated as the situation progresses and the Government decisions are announced. We apologise for the inconvenience.

You can also find information of the program of upcoming events at the France Galop managed racecourses (ParisLongchamp, Auteuil, Chatnilly, Deauville and Saint-Cloud) and the LeTROT racecourses (Paris-Vincennes, Enghien, Caen and Cabourt) on the respective websites of the organising authorities. There is also information about national events (Trophee Vert and Grand National du Trot Paris-Turf).

France Galop - As things stand, France Galop regrettably has to inform you that the launch of “Racing on Sunday”, which was initially planned for 5 April 2020 at the ParisLongchamp and Auteuil racecourses, is for the time being postponed to 10 May 2020.

France Galop - Tickets bought in advance will be valid on any Sunday race meeting during the month of May (10, 16, 17 and 24 May). To exchange your tickets, please contact 0892 97 2000 or contact evenements@france-galop.com

 

  • Useful links

 

Latest information from the organising authorities

  • Latest information LeTROT: here
  • Latest information France Galop: here

 

Information and procedures

 

Institutional websites

 

Institutionnal Websites

  •