When you walk along Rue de la République, in the Saint-Cyprien district of Toulouse, it’s impossible not to notice all the iron curtains lowered. “In one year, three businesses have gone out of business” said Clément Condamine, boss of La Houblonnière and president of the Saint-Cyprien merchants association. “It’s a massacre. It’s been two or three years since I’ve been able to make a living from my activity; it’s relatives who help me. I came to hate my job.“
A trend confirmed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry: just for the hotel/restaurant industry, there has been 192 procedures for judicial liquidation last year compared to 127 in 2019, the reference year before Covid-19.
Energy and purchasing power
With inflation, he estimates 30% reduction in turnover. Too much to have a viable business. And if certain districts of Toulouse, notably the hypercenter, are rather spared, in Saint-Cyprien, it is far from being the only one. Today a saleswoman in an organic bakery, Pauline yesterday worked in a grocery store. “Every month, the manager wondered how she was going to pay her employees and stay open, because costs are increasing, producers are paying themselves less and less, and even for customers, it’s financially complicated to feed themselves..”
At the heart of the problem are crises, inflation, and increases in energy prices. Moktaria opened a bakery with her husband on rue de la République, “but we still have a year left to try to earn a salary” she admits. “For the moment, the money coming in does not pay half of the bill.“A production cost that is too high, added to a change in consumption patterns : “Today people buy a lot online” regrets Clément Condamine.
2024-02-05 21:22:51
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