Emmanuel Macron had mentioned a possible reopening of bars and restaurants, affected by an administrative closure since the end of October 2020, on January 20. But Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Thursday, January 7, that these establishments will remain closed “until a minimum of mid-February”.
“The health situation in our country has not returned to normal”, added Jean Castex to explain this decision. Rudy Carnis, president of the Union des métiers et des industries de l’hôtellerie (Umih) of Eure-et-Loir, is not surprised by this announcement:
“We expected it. This is not great news. What hurts us very much is that the restaurants will remain closed until” minimum mid-February “according to the Prime Minister. We have doubts today ‘Today on this date. What we would like, even if it can be difficult, is to have a course. Even if it is March 15 for example, we have to give us a date of recovery. Psychologically, it’s difficult.”
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For the restaurant owner, the sector will find it difficult to recover: “The crisis is here and there is state aid to deal with it. We can work with our bankers, we can do take-away sales… But the lack of perspective is very restrictive, we cannot anticipate anything. The day we have a reopening date, we can try to organize ourselves, but we must not give it to us 48 hours in advance. There, we are moving towards another seasonality, with a stop phase of more than four months. The staff have not picked up their pace, the establishments need to be rehabilitated … “
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He adds: “I put myself in the government’s shoes, the health crisis is complex with the addition of a mutant virus. There are a lot of unknowns. What we are asking for is a date to regain hope and set goals. “
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“There is nervousness, frustration, incomprehension…”
Rudy Carnis recalls that an entire sector is affected by this unprecedented crisis: “The situation is also catastrophic for night establishments, for example. Some entrepreneurs think they won’t be able to open until next fall. That would make eighteen months of closure. No business can survive such a long period of inactivity. A delegation from Umih 28 was received at the prefecture this week with officials from the Direccte, the Banque de France… Economic issues were raised, such as the subject of postponing bank loans, for example. “
The restaurateurs of Eure-et-Loir again forced to close their doors during confinement: “It’s a blow of the club”
For Thomas Parnaud, chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Le Georges, in Chartres, the postponement of the opening date is not a surprise either: “When we were told that we could let go during the holiday season, I immediately said that we were going to pay the consequences, and this is the case. It’s annoying because it would have been necessary to tighten the screw with strict protocols. I don’t have an infused science, but there is nervousness, frustration, incomprehension… ”
The chef is also cautious for the future: “I think we should not expect a reopening before the end of March. We can have a good surprise, but if it’s to close a new one behind, we might as well wait. “
Simon Dechet
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