Coronavirus. Closure of shopping centers: the blur, then the disappointment

Another blow for part of French businesses since the announcement of Jean Castex, this Friday, January 29, at the end of a surprise health defense council. In order to be able to push back as much as possible the scenario of a third confinement, the executive has chosen to impose new restrictive measures, the main one of which is directly affecting the world of distribution. In addition to a national curfew at 6 p.m., all non-food shopping centers with a surface area greater than 20,000 m2 must close this Sunday. On the national territory, while the winter sales, which started two weeks late, are struggling to take off due to consumers who prefer online or second-hand purchases, nearly 400 shopping centers or stores are affected by the measure. .

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Cold shower in full sales

In Moselle, and more particularly in Metz where a prefectural stop had exceptionally authorized the opening of all shops this Sunday, January 31, the announcement had the effect of a cold shower for the Muse and Waves stores, B’Est in Farébersviller, Aushopping in Semécourt and Géric de Thionville. Consumers have, moreover, this Saturday, seemed to anticipate a closure, if we judge by the significant influx observed in various brands …

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Will close? Will not close?

To the disappointment were added, on the side of the bosses of the large distribution, many questions. What about open-air shopping centers whose commercial units are completely independent from one another, such as Waves-Actisud? Saturday morning, a meeting between representatives of professional organizations and the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, aimed to appreciate these subtleties and give a clear answer. Except that in the middle of the afternoon, Julien Ducasse, the director of Waves Actisud was still waiting for a response from the Moselle prefecture: “We close in 3:30 and we still do not know what to say to the employees”, lamented- he. On the side of the prefecture, no official list of the sites concerned was drawn up, pending an implementing decree, so as not to “put in difficulty shopping centers that would not have to close”.

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Evening clarification

A little before 5 p.m., the government finally clarified that the closures did not apply to “shopping areas, business parks and branded villages where public movement between businesses occurs outside”. Waves-Actisud and its 61,800m2 therefore remain open. Others, such as Géric in Thionville or B’Est in Farébersviller are not so lucky and have confirmed their closure, except for their supermarkets which remain open. Finally, with its 20,000 m2 all stacked, it is also the obligatory closure for the Center Saint-Jacques in Metz, outside its supermarket.

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