The long-awaited calendar has finally fallen!
This Thursday in an interview with the headlines of the regional daily press, Emmanuel Macron detailed the four stages that will mark the return to normal in the country.
On May 19, restaurant owners will be able to reopen their businesses, with a curfew at 9 p.m., and within the limit of six people per table.
As of June 9, room service can resume, with a curfew at 11 p.m. and the same limit of people per table.
And on June 30, the end of the gauges and the curfew.
Relieved or disappointed by these announcements, industry professionals gave their first reactions to
Figaro.
Read also: Curfew, restaurants, cultural places: Macron announces deconfinement in four stages, from May 3
"
I am very disappointed with this date of May 19,"
explains Marcel Benezet, president of the GNI-Synhorcat cafes, bars and breweries in the preamble.
We asked for a reopening between the 10th and the 15th maximum. ”
Marcel Benezet fears above all a very strong loss of turnover for Parisian restaurateurs, for whom
"the months of March, May and October are essential"
and who will be deprived of one of the most profitable weekends in Paris. the year.
“In Paris, it will be the same as last year: there will be no one left from Pentecost and in June, not to mention summer. I really would have preferred that we reopen as quickly as possible. "
With the GNI, Marcel Benezet will thus ask for specific aid for Parisian restaurateurs who this summer, still deprived of some of the tourists, may not be sold out.
“The government has given specific aid for businesses in the mountains or for Lourdes.
He can do it for Paris. ”
Difficult recruitment
For his part, Alain Fontaine, the president of the Association of Master Restorers, is rather satisfied with this date, which allows
“to avoid huge gatherings during the Ascension Bridge”
.
He also recognizes that Emmanuel Macron has
"rather respected his promise to reopen the terraces in mid-May"
.
"We now have specific opening dates to organize, it's still a good thing,"
he concludes.
Read also: The Paris town hall wants to make ephemeral terraces pay for bars and restaurants
Félicien Taris owns two restaurants in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine). When he learned, this Thursday in the press, the new dates for the gradual reopening of establishments, he was not elated.
“We had been expecting this schedule for a few days, that's what our distributors told us,” he
explains.
But the government can quickly forget that reopening a restaurant takes a long time! There are the cold rooms to restart, the pressure machines to reactivate, and above all the suppliers to call back! Of course, these suppliers manage their millions of orders a year very well, with deliveries scheduled every week at specific times. But there, they will have to deliver everyone at once, it will be very complicated.
"
Read also: Covid-19: How the owners of bars and restaurants are preparing for the reopening
However, what worries Félicien Taris the most is elsewhere. According to him, it is the recruitment campaign that will be the most delicate this season. "
I am already sure and certain that I will be behind in my recruitment
," he explains.
Many catering professionals left the profession this year. And for the others, they've been receiving the same pay for six months as when they worked hard 60 hours a week, it's not going to be easy to get them back on track ...
" If he fears losing money the first weeks,
"especially if it rains"
, Félicien Taris has however planned to reopen at least one of his two terraces from May 19,
"at least for human contact. ! "