In Montluçon (Allier), consumers were also at the rendezvous this Saturday, November 28, for this first day of reopening of shops both in the city center and in shopping areas.
Shopping but not necessarily for Christmas
Contrary to what one might think, Christmas shopping is not always the priority at the Marco Polo leather goods store, boulevard de Courtais.
We come for Christmas shopping but also for my daughter’s birthday which took place during confinement. We live in Chamblet so when we come to Montluçon, we group together purchases to avoid having to come back and multiply trips.
Amelie (a resident of Chamblet)
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In the same store, Mathilde, a young thirty-something, is also doing scouting for her birthday. “My friend told me to come see if I found something I liked. I spotted three bags. I would come back with him at the start of the week to help me choose. “
Charlène Cajat (2nd from the right) will open her shop on Sunday afternoons. Photo Cécile Champagnat.
Charlène Cajat, the owner of the store, does not hesitate to remind her customers that it will be open on Sunday afternoons from November 29.
Time for others but also for yourself
At the men’s clothing store, Le Stadium – still on Boulevard de Courtais – Yan anticipates his Christmas shopping.
I work in medicine so I don’t have a lot of time on weekdays to think about it. Today I have the opportunity, so take advantage of it.
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Further on Boulevard de Courtais, Lila and her friends are shopping “for them”. “This is the first day of reopening. It’s nice to be there. It airs the mind, ”say the teenagers.
Queues according to gauges 
The new sanitary measures impose stricter gauges on the store. Photo Cécile Champagnat
All along this very commercial axis of Montluçonnais, one notices from time to time queues which form in front of certain stores according to the gauges imposed by the new sanitary measures. On the sidewalk, customers wait quietly like François and Marie-Pierre, a retired couple.
We’ve been waiting for three quarters of an hour, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It depends on how much time other customers need to shop. Salespeople can’t kick them out until they’ve finished and paid.
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The couple questioned, however, the relevance of the eight square meters as customers move around the store, sometimes approaching each other without even realizing it during their research.
Toy stores taken by storm 
Many customers had come to shop in the Saint-Jacques II area. Photo Cécile Champagnat
Many were expected in toy stores on Saturday. The customers were there for this first day of reopening. Example at the exit of La Grande Récré in the Saint Jacques shopping area in Montluçon.
With a capacity limited to 60 people maximum, some had to wait before being able to enter the store this Saturday afternoon. Fortunately, for the most part, they come out with what they came for. Like Annie with the dolls requested by her granddaughter for Christmas.
I came today because I was afraid I wouldn’t find what she wanted afterwards
Annie (Montluçonnaise grandmother)
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For their part, Marie-Claire and Céline leave with two board games “to play with the family”.
Focus on local stores
This passage through La Grande Récré was voluntary, as Marie-Claire explains.
We come from the countryside to do our shopping in Montluçon. I had selected them before. Since we were right next door, we might as well focus on local stores rather than the Internet.
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Customers were able to find what they had come for. Photo Cécile Champagnat
The desire to go out to get some fresh air and see people again
They also came to Montluçon from Doyet for their running errands this Saturday afternoon. Benoît and Lucie are there for their children’s Christmas presents and at home, “it’s half and half between the internet and the stores for Christmas”.
This additional exit is also against the gloom of reconfinement. “It feels good to get back to normal. We were tired of being locked up. “
A feeling shared by Sandrine and Loïc who are also starting their Christmas shopping. “It was an opportunity to go out to finally get some fresh air, to see people again, to see life in itself. And like Annie, they wanted to make sure they had a choice of gifts for the kids.
Florence Farina and Brian Le Goff: text
Cécile Champagnat: pictures
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