Just imagine Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, or Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice, obliged to serve – themselves – the children in the canteen because there are too many cases of Covid-19 among the municipal staff!
This has been happening since last Friday in Ouges, a small town of 1,600 inhabitants a handful of kilometers south-east of Dijon. On Friday three cases of Covid-19 were declared among the six municipal staff dedicated to the canteen.
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Neither one nor two, Jean-Claude Girard the mayor has exchanged his tricolor scarf for a canteen’s suit. The choice was simple: it was either going to the dining room, or it was necessary to close the school canteen and leave many families behind. Knowing that here in Ouges, of the 110 children enrolled in primary and nursery schools, 100 dine daily in the canteen.
Set the tables, ensure the service
Every day you have to reheat the meals delivered by a company, set the tables and provide the service. The mayor – who can fortunately count on volunteer parents, on the administrative staff of his husband and on the other elected officials of his municipal council – hopes to keep the week going at this rate.
It’s my role to be there, even Jean-Claude Girard explains. “A restaurant owner from Dijon notably offered to come and help us, I also have the president of the firefighters’ association who is present … I think that given the volunteers who have joined us, we will be able to hold out ”.
While waiting for the return of “covid” personnel, it is also necessary to provide extra-curricular reception from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., which is also barely maintained. In the meantime, Yves Doussot, the first assistant also gives a helping hand to the service.
“I think it suits the parents well”
“It’s not too complicated, plus it’s my old job, I was a cook for years at the CROUS in Dijon, I’m a little bit in my element, that doesn’t pose any problems for me. I think it suits the parents well. “
At a table, Timaé and Louka, CM2 students, are dressing their plates. How do they see this new canteen staff? “The mayor is normally in the offices. There we see him with gloves that are useful to us, it’s a bit strange” said Timaé. While Louka adds: “They are nicer I think because the others shouted a little and when we spoke too loudly they rang the bell”.
Unfortunately for Louka, the completely unusual situation for the mayor of Ouges is not set to last. Jean-Claude Giard also launches “an SOS” so that it does not happen again. He wishes “that the government and parliamentarians will realize” to remedy “the difficulties experienced by small towns which have to manage 85 to 100 children every day or even more every day” at the school canteen during this period of epidemic rebound.
Find this report on the antenna of France Bleu Bourgogne this Tuesday January 11, 2022 from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (98.3 or 103.7)
