Greeting ceremonies, end-of-year meals, conventions… Cancellations follow one another and caterers are at the forefront of the professions affected.
What will the end of the year in events look like at the time of the fifth rising wave?
“A veritable tsunami of cancellations has hit companies in the sector for a week now! Companies in the event industry are reliving March 2020”, alerts the Syndicate of events activities (SAE). Their figures support the strong trend that has been emerging since the directive issued by the Ministry of Labor on November 29 encouraging social distancing and the renunciation of “convivial moments” in the workplace.
If the major exhibitions are for the moment maintained, in three days, the SAE records 460 cancellations of services, of which 70% during the months of December and January, a cumulative loss of activity of 12 M €, or 45% of the turnover. forecast business for this period and 25% of the annual turnover. The whole chain is affected, cascading. The organizers first.
“We don’t want to be responsible for a cluster”
Clinipole, for example, has just canceled the inauguration of the nursing home Le Coulazou, a brand new establishment located in Fabrègues (Hérault). The ceremony was scheduled for December 15, and many local personalities were invited two weeks before the residents arrived: “In the current context, it was completely irrelevant”, indicates the communication of the health group.
The same goes for the Federation of Occitanie-Mediterranean real estate developers, which renounces its vows ceremony scheduled for December 7 in Mauguio (Hérault), with 615 people registered. “The first thing we said to ourselves was that we didn’t want to be responsible for a cluster”, indicates the FPI. She could not see herself giving up the cocktail either, made impossible because the mask became mandatory again, but postponed the event until spring.
“Mid-December is the red week of the year”
The providers then. And there, the caterers are already in turmoil. “We are hit hard, everything is canceled, everyone becomes cautious, companies give up receptions. We notably had a meal for 250 people next week which has just been canceled,” testifies Isabelle Seguret, owner of Clos des Lys in Perpignan (PO). For this, she had already made the stocks of topping, decorations and others. For raw materials, breeders and other market gardeners also risk suffering the consequences.
Le Clos des Lys has also already lost the festivities of some fifteen municipalities in the department which have postponed their end-of-year meal for seniors and others. A disaster at the height of the season: “Mid-December is the red week of the year”, Isabelle Séguret sighs. The association les Caterers de France has identified the first losses in the sector. Edifying: 430 receptions for 155,147 guests were canceled for € 6.9 million in turnover.
We understand that town halls do not want seniors to take risks, but the state must help us
Plunging into incomprehension of the profession: “Last year, we were asked to open with a strict protocol, we control it, there, it would no longer be good while in addition people are vaccinated? deplores the Catalan chef. Even if we understand that town halls do not want seniors to take risks, the state must also come to our aid. “
And also
● In Nîmes, Alès, Bagnols
The seniors ‘banquet, organized by the senior citizens’ office of the City of Nîmes, which brings together more than 2,500 people, was to take place in mid-December. It was postponed to April. In Bagnols-sur-Cèze, cancellation of sound and light scheduled for December 19 on the facade of the town hall. In Alès, the Sainte-Barbe events, scheduled for this Saturday at the Rochebelle cultural center, are canceled.
● In Montpellier
The City of Montpellier has canceled the Golden Age meal, scheduled for next January at the Zénith. Seniors will receive a package and will be called by the CCAS. Depending on the evolution of the health crisis, meetings in small groups will be organized at the beginning of 2022.
● In Béziers
In Béziers, the City canceled the kitsch evening at the arenas last weekend but is maintaining its Christmas festivities. In the villages, Telethon events are falling apart this weekend and mayors are wondering about the maintenance of the vows ceremony in January. In Cazouls-lès-Béziers, it is canceled.
● In Sète
For the time being, only the elders’ tea dance organized by the CCAS has been canceled. In the Thau basin, health passes and masks are required and demonstrations are maintained.
● In Lozère
The Telethon meal scheduled for Saturday in Saint-Germaindu-Teil is canceled. And in Grandrieu, the folk group Amics de la mountogno will not do a dance rehearsal next Tuesday.
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