How far will the anger of small traders go, forced to lower the curtain during the second confinement?
As the Christmas holidays approach, which can represent nearly a third of their annual turnover, several professions are outraged at an administrative closure that risks sentencing them to death.
Furious, actors denounce a double standard, two measures vis-à-vis the big brands and the giants of online commerce.
Read also: Shops: the government bans the sale of books
It all starts with the definition of what an “essential trade” can remain open during containment.
Many sectors excluded from this definition and forced to close criticize an arbitrary and unfair choice, while their health protocols, tested since deconfinement, allow their customers to make their purchases without risk of contamination.
“
There is a growing discontent, it is enormous among booksellers, for example.
Even our colleagues who can nevertheless remain open do not understand this division and support their closed counterparts: the trade is a big chain, we need each other, this is how a shopping street lives
”, indicates the person in charge of 'a large federation of the food trade in
Le Figaro
.
And to add: "
When we heard what was going on, we were afraid of not being able to hold our troops and to see them tumble en masse in the street
".
A revolt on several scales
Explosive, the sling of small traders was felt on several levels.
First, at the local level, mayors plan to act to protect the activity.
This is for example the case in Dijon, where the elected (PS) and former Minister of Labor François Rebsamen warned that a decree would be taken this Saturday to "
authorize the Dijon bookstores to remain open, if they wish
".
The head of the Dijon municipality is not the only one to want to engage in a standoff with the authorities.
At the national level, the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) has also criticized criteria "
difficult to justify
": "
certain businesses such as bookstores or hairdressing salons could be essential services
", argues l 'organization.
Its president, François Baroin, therefore asks the government "
to quickly review the definition of essential trade and expand it, as long as the health security conditions
" are met.
The sectors are also taking action.
Friday, the Federation of shops specializing in toys and children's products (FCJPE) announced an appeal for interim relief with the Council of State to contest the closure of its shops a few weeks before Christmas.
The conditions of the reconfinement entail a "
distortion of competition
" by closing the specialized shops while letting the large distribution sell toys, criticizes the organization in a
press
release: the summary therefore denounces the "
manifest violation of the principle of equal competition
".
The House of Bedding has also filed an interim relief.
Booksellers have also loudly expressed their disagreement, protesting against their closure while Fnac and large distribution could continue to sell books.
In the latter case, Bercy reacted quickly on Friday: following meetings with the players concerned, "
it was decided [...] that the book and crop departments of supermarkets
" should close, as well as those of the Fnac.
Books can still be ordered online and picked up from bookstores.
A meeting with the profession will take place "
next week
" to work on "
the terms of a possible reopening of bookstores
" within a fortnight, also noted the Ministry of the Economy.
The Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, also estimated on Saturday 31 October that it was necessary to "
support these independent booksellers
as much as possible
": "
I ask the French to favor local trade, as much as possible, even if there are obstacles
”, urged the government representative.
Bruno Le Maire had for his part called on Friday consumers to behave "
patriotic
", favoring purchases in small shops, either "
click & collect
" or by delivery.
The thorny case of Amazon
Professionals are up against a closure that will leave the field open to the giants of online commerce, including Amazon.
The American titan has also launched, in recent days, a pre-Black Friday communication and promotion operation, this period of exceptional sales that takes place in November.
"
I asked Amazon to suspend the campaign [...] because it was not at all appropriate at the moment
" and the company "
agreed to withdraw this operation
", announced Agnès Pannier-Runacher .
At the time of writing, however, the page was still live on the Amazon site.
Amazon's campaign was supposed to take place between October 26 and November 19.
In the longer term, the subject of Black Friday “
will have to be worked on with traders,
” added the minister cautiously, without answering whether the world e-commerce leader could or not carry out this promotional campaign in France.
Small traders are angry with Amazon: already undermined by the demonstrations of "
yellow vests
", strikes against pension reform, the first confinement and the rise of online commerce, these professionals consider that the American giant does not not play by the same rules as them.
"
If the measures taken are those expected, those who will do best will be pure players like Amazon, when they do not already have the same legal and fiscal obligations as us
", fulminated a representative of a federation shortly before the announcement of the second confinement.
For small traders, time is running out: in anticipation of a reconfinement, buyers have already started to prepare for the end of the year celebrations.
This period is strategic for all sectors, be it food or non-food.
However, "
trade is a chain
", explains the general secretary of CGAD (Confédération Générale de l'Alimentation en Détail), Isabelle Bricard: if some shops miss this period and go out of business, links in this chain will break up, weakening commercial areas and city centers as a whole as well as other types of businesses.
