This Thursday evening, the representatives of French traders did not hide their anger and disappointment.
Their last hopes are finally gone.
Prime Minister Jean Castex announced it during his press conference: the doors of “
non-essential
” businesses will remain closed for at least two additional days.
And for bars, restaurants and sports halls, the situation promises to be dramatic: they will remain closed until further notice, regardless of the evolution of the health situation.
“
Non-essential
” businesses could reopen at the beginning of December, with a reinforced health protocol, such as an extended gauge (it is now 4 square meters per customer) or making appointments in shops.
“The scene is set, we can hope to reopen from December 1st.
The nice surprise will be to be able to reopen on the weekend of November 27, ”
said François Asselin, president of the Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME)
.
This request will be brought by the French Commercial Council (CDCF), announces its president, William Koeberlé, in
Le Figaro
.
"
We regret this decision which prevents traders from working, while some are in a catastrophic situation
, ”comments William Koeberlé.
For the Union des entreprises de proximity (U2P), maintaining the closure is certainly “
a disappointment
” but it can be “
an evil for a good
”, making it possible to contain the epidemic as much as possible so that the resumption of the activity is all the stronger at the beginning of December.
“
It's impossible not to reopen in December.
This is not an option,
”warns the head of the organization, Laurent Munerot.
Anger and disappointment among toy dealers
This distant hope of a reopening is not enough to calm the anger of professionals.
"
We are very disappointed and we do not understand why we are being forced to close when it has been shown that the virus does not spread in our shops,
" rants the president of the Toy Federation (FCJPE), Philippe Geydon.
"
Our businesses are not providers of Covid cases, we must disconnect the two elements,
" says the businessman.
Denouncing a “
counterproductive
” decision
and a “
manifest error
” on the part of the executive, the representative of the toy dealers warns of a total recovery on December 1 which risks causing crushes in the stores.
"
We must be progressive, attack now
", he analyzes, otherwise, at Christmas, "
we will have foie gras, champagne, but nothing to put at the feet of the trees
".
His federation will "
continue to discuss
" with the executive, but it promises to fight against this closure.
“
Why can we buy a telephone from Fnac and not a toy from us?
What is the health difference between one and the other?
», Annoys Philippe Geydon.
The FCJPE intends to put pressure on the executive, in particular by relying on the justice system and local elected officials, "
who want to change the government's mind with us
".
“
It is not because we lost the battle to reopen on November 13 that we are going to go home without doing anything.
For the past two weeks, we have been in a constructive logic to reopen under good conditions.
From tomorrow, we will change our tone: we are fighting against unfair decisions
, ”threatens the representative of the organization.
"The seasonal stock problems risk being a disaster"
At six weeks before the end of the year holidays, a crucial period for sales, traders are anxious, especially because they fear that they will soon be overwhelmed by their stock of Christmas products that they have already purchased, while the close of accounts for December 31 are fast approaching.
"
The reopening is vital for them and we know it
", conceded the Minister of the Economy.
"
Bruno Le Maire underlined the problems of seasonal stocks, which could be a disaster for some traders, without really providing any answers
", notes François Asselin.
He fears that traders unable to pay their bills will drag suppliers down.
The CPME wants Bercy to set up a loan guaranteed by the country state which would make it possible to finance these stocks over the next six months.
“
Not everyone will go because it is still debt.
But this device could save some,
”he believes.
Read also: Covid-19: what are the most contaminating places?
Black Friday makes the situation even more urgent.
Imported from the United States, this promotional period will actually begin online as early as the week of November 23.
In the meantime, some traders will try to maintain some semblance of activity, continuing the "
click and collect
".
But this represents on average less than 10% of turnover at best, for "
those who know how to do it
", explains the CPME.
Traders expect more from rents
The executive wishes to continue in the next two weeks the “
massive
”
economic and financial support
to protect the “
economic victims of confinement
”.
Aid such as access to the solidarity fund of up to 10,000 euros, partial activity or the postponement of reimbursement of PGEs, will be maintained.
"This is good news because the aid can be combined with the turnover of November,"
said the boss of the CPME.
He hopes that the financial aid will take into account the shortfall that will result from the strengthening of health rules in businesses.
Bercy has also strengthened the tax system put in place to encourage donors to reduce their charges.
Landlords benefit from a tax credit if they agree to waive one month's rent over the November period: this tax benefit, which until now represented 30% of the amount of the monthly rent, is increased to 50%.
The decision was welcomed by the U2P, which believes that it is "
likely to decide the donors to make a gesture
" for the traders.
The measure for rents does not win the support of professionals: “
aid is very good, but it is very targeted at small traders.
As usual, it is those in the middle who have nothing
”, regrets Philippe Geydon.
The Toy Federation sees the rental system as a "
gas factory
", complex to implement on the part of donors and insufficient for companies.
For the Conseil du commerce de France, “
everything must be done to avoid numerous business failures
”.
Restaurants and bars consider themselves sacrificed
“
The anger is terrible among restaurateurs and bars.
We do not understand this isolation, we have no hope.
They come to sacrifice us on the altar of the Covid
”, regrets Hubert Jan, national president of the Umih Restauration.
According to him, two out of three establishments could disappear by the end of 2020. For restaurants, the month of December represents the third month of the year in terms of turnover.
After the bad news this Thursday, the Umih asks that Bercy take care of the "
30% of the remaining charges, which represent the fixed costs that the directors of closed establishments continue to pay out of pocket
".
"
We have accumulated many late paid holidays, resulting from the first confinement, which have a little more impact on our cash flow today
", also notes Hubert Jan, who wants Bercy to provide a solution to this problem.
“
There is only one rule to apply now: if there is no revenue, there must be zero expenditure on the other side.
Otherwise we run into a hecatomb of filing for bankruptcy,
”Judge François Asselin.
CPME will address in the coming days the question of the rescheduling of their medium and long-term debt as well as that of the financing of the goodwill.
The Confederation also wants the establishment of "
personal support for the entrepreneur, because the aid does not go directly to the bank account of the self-employed
".
U2P's finding is also alarming: "
there is no viable solution to allow restaurants to reopen in the short or medium term
," notes Laurent Munerot.
Other trades and small activities will also have to be taken into account, adds the boss of the organization, such as retouchers, who can remain open but suffer greatly from the closure of clothing stores.
One thing is certain this evening: the battle for small businesses is far from over, and a new chapter has just opened.
