Regulars of the O’Parinor shopping center in Aulnay-sous-Bois will long remember its stature and its verb “cash”. Alain Siekappen-Kemayou, 45, was the site’s security manager. He died on Friday after contracting Covid-19.
“Alain is the first death from this epidemic in France in our sector of activity”, underlined the announcement of his death by the CGT trade and services federation.
Among the traders, the news had the effect of a bomb, so much the person in charge of security was appreciated and respected. “It’s heartbreaking for all those who knew him, Alain had become a real figure of Aulnay-sous-Bois”, sums up Billel Hidri. He knew him “at the very beginning of the 2000s, when I did an internship in a ready-to-wear brand, then when I worked in Carrefour’s telephony and finally, when I was manager. of O’Tacos for three years. »
“O’Parinor’s Guardian Angel”
As of Saturday evening, the news spread on social networks, in particular the Facebook pages frequented by the inhabitants of the O’Parinor sector. And the tributes have multiplied in memory of “this big beefy”, this “charismatic” man, some posting photos of flowers in his memory.
Alain was a regular at Billel Hidri’s fast food restaurant: “A cordon-bleu tacos, nuggets, and samurai sauce: that’s what he had every time for his lunch with us! I will never forget that,” recalls the young restaurateur.
“I saw him as a big brother, continues the latter. This is the image he will leave here: O’Parinor’s guardian angel. A big brother who did not hesitate to lecture. “He was cash! When I started, he didn’t let me down: when I was late on my deliveries, which had to be made before 10 a.m., he told me bluntly: T’as merdé ! »
“This should make the authorities think”
The 40-year-old was very professional. “He also knew how to talk to people, to young people, to those who were planning to make a mess. Calmly, firmly. I know a lot of shopping centers in the Paris region, and for me, O’Parinor was one of the safest, one of the best kept, thanks to him. There has never been an outbreak of violence here,” continues Billel Hidri.
Who adds: “He also helped me a lot for the installation, by advising me on the questions of security of the premises, for example. He who was a stickler for the rules, it’s a shame that he was swept away by this virus… This should make the authorities think about the measures to be taken to protect those who are on the front line! »
For Bruno Danet, CGT representative at the Carrefour hypermarket, “Alain was a character in the gallery, he had been there for a while. We saw him regularly, but I didn’t know him well. He was a professional, courteous person. »
Several cases of covid-19 among staff
Like all the center’s employees, he is now wondering “since when has the virus been present in the gallery”, citing two cases in a ready-to-wear store. “There was a first patient among the employees. The store was closed for a day, disinfected, and the team has completely changed. And then there was a second patient…”
If the 210 shops have lowered the curtain for eight days, the pharmacy and therefore the Carrefour hypermarket remain open.
With a risk of additional contamination, laments Amar Lagha, secretary general of the CGT trade and services federation. “Security guards and cashiers do not have enough masks and hydroalcoholic gel! Certainly, today, the gallery has closed, but it is too late, it would have been necessary to take draconian measures to protect employees from the start, ”thunders the latter.
“We are not asking for a bonus but for precautions”
Also tackling the bonus proposal envisaged by the government for employees of large retailers, who must continue to go to their place of work. “We are not asking for a bonus, recalls the union official. But precautions, for all those people who are at the forehead. Alain was one of those who were sent to hell, without precautions. »
Contacted, Alain Siekappen-Kemayou’s employer, the Samsic company, did not respond to our requests, nor did the management of the shopping center.
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