"There is no reason why there are different rules in Paris and Marseille"
.
This little sentence pronounced by the Minister for SMEs, Alain Griset, is not to boost the morale of Parisian restaurateurs.
Noting the anger and distress of their colleagues from Aix and Marseille, who have lowered the curtain since Sunday for the next two weeks, they fear to suffer the same fate.
To read also: "It's catastrophic": bars and restaurants in shock after the announcements of Olivier Véran
Guest of RTL on Tuesday, Alain Griset indeed left the question open.
“There is no reason that there are different rules in Paris and Marseille.
There will be a Defense Council which will speak out and then the Minister of Health will speak out.
Me, today, I have no element that allows me to say that there will be a closure of restaurants, ”
he replied, remaining evasive.
However, doubt no longer seems allowed among Parisian restaurateurs.
“We have less and less hope.
I sincerely think that we are heading towards the announcement of a closure on Monday, ”
confirms David Zenouda, representative of the Union of Trades and Industries of the Hotel Industry (Umih) in Paris.
The incidence rate in Paris close to that of Marseille
According to the division announced last week by Olivier Véran, the Aix-Marseille metropolis, as well as Guadeloupe, are placed in the maximum alert zone, the highest threshold with an incidence rate of 250 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Paris, its inner suburbs and ten other cities (Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Saint-Étienne, Rennes, Rouen, Grenoble and Montpellier) are currently in an enhanced alert zone.
But the figures for the capital are close to those of the south of France with an incidence rate currently of 245.7, according to the latest data from Public Health France, consulted by
Le Figaro.
An observation that makes restaurants fear the worst and all are already preparing to have to cease their activity promptly.
"We will work just in time and on Saturday, on the menu, there will perhaps be less choice because the restaurants want to avoid making the same mistakes as during the first closure and do not replenish their stocks"
, explains David Zenouda, describing a
"very pessimistic"
state of mind
.
Hoped-for political support
A concern shared by the co-founder and one of the spokespersons of the collective of bar owners "Stay open" (which includes the Umih).
“We will close, that's for sure.
We're going to get there, we're going straight
ahead, ”Stéphane Manigold predicted on Franceinfo on Tuesday.
But, according to this boss of four Parisian restaurants, the sector can count on the support of local politicians like Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, "
who is also up against a general closure of our establishments
".
David Zenouda also hopes that such a decision will mobilize the political class, starting with Valérie Pécresse who would have assured them his support in the event of closure.
The representative of Umih promises, anyway, legal actions like the president LR of the Provence-Alpes-Côte D'Azur region, Renaud Muselier, who has filed an appeal against the prefectural decree ordering the closure of restaurants and bars.
The deliberation is expected this Wednesday at 3 p.m.
