A radiant weekend is announced in Lyon and with the good weather, a massive return to the terraces is feared by the authorities.
The recent images on social networks of rue Mercière, known for its row of bars and restaurants, crowded with people, seriously worried the authorities.
To avoid the scenes of liesses observed in recent weeks, with customers by the hundreds, glass of beer or mulled wine in hand, standing in front of the bistros, the Rhône prefecture will take an order this Friday prohibiting the consumption of alcohol on the public highway in the hypercentre of the capital of the Gauls.
"We will go to Old Lyon"
Suffice to say that the news has the effect of a cold shower, among bar owners as among customers who felt they had found a little freedom.
“It's nonsense,” sighs Stéphane Pelletier, owner of the Broc Bar, in the Presqu'île district, “customers will retreat to neighboring districts, in the 5th, 6th and 3rd arrondissements.
“On that account, he intends to close his establishment again, and put his employees back to partial unemployment.
Another disappointment is rue Mercière, where customers enjoy their beer in the sun in small groups.
"We will go directly opposite, in Old Lyon," says Adrien, who motto, a glass in his hand, in the middle of a group of students.
The only people satisfied with the measure seem to be the residents.
“Last Saturday, the street was crowded, watch out for the Covid, I didn't even dare to leave my home,” says Nadine, a young retiree living in rue Mercière.