For some, the Covid stimulates new beginnings: change of profession, move, birth of a child ... For others, it means the death of small daily pleasures: morning coffees on the terrace, rare steaks in the dining room, last beers at the counter ... We have collected the testimonies of several French people, whose deprivation of these fleeting pleasures harms their well-being - and their mental health.
Read also: "I need to feel alive": after the Covid, new major life projects
"
From now on, my only trips are watched on TV
": restaurants and bars, symbols of escape
In search of taste and time, many French people flock to the most popular brasseries in their region at midday.
Eric, in his fifties, sadly remembers his favorite dishes, which he ordered at Bouillon Chartier, a famous Parisian brasserie.
"
Herring fillets, eggs mayonnaise, frankfurter sausage, duck confit, and that white lady, god damn it, I miss that!"
»But can't we cook these dishes at home?
“
Yes, and I tried for some… But it wasn't as good.
Then I did not find this atmosphere, this incessant hubbub, these servers dressed to the nines!
"
A pretty table - one of those we would like to see more often - at the Bougainville, in Paris.
JULIEN BOUDISSEAU / LE FIGARO
Read also: "It's just for friends": dive into the world of illegal restaurants
The flavor is therefore less important than the experience, as stated by Élodie, mother of two children, who lived every week the “
dolce vita
”.
“
With my husband, we went every Friday evening to a small typical pizzeria, where the waiters spoke Italian.
We could hear them humming, screaming ... It was our way of escaping, and we didn't have to do the dishes!
When you have children, the restaurant is the best way to let yourself go a little, to travel on a daily basis ...
"
Rémi was used to themed restaurants and bars.
"
In Paris, I had to do them all: the Blue Wagon, the Dragons Élysées, the HD Diner, the Chalet des Iles, the Coco de Mer ...
" In question, his love of travel.
“
I love discovering other countries, but with the job, it's always complicated.
So I fell back on this type of restaurant.
From now on, my only trips are watched on TV ...
"
Read also: Why too much bad news harms our mental health
“
Drinking a pint at night is not just getting drunk.
It also creates a break with the professional and family world, which for me are two quite stressful environments
, ”says Joël, who works in real estate.
“
I didn't go every day, but even once a week it was a breath of fresh air.
"
The superb “Chez Léon” in Paris.
JULIEN BOUDISSEAU / LE FIGARO
"
It was our only contact with the outside world
": when sociability dies
Move away from what weighs on us, to find those who relieve us.
The popularity of bistros, restaurants and bars can also be explained, and above all, by the social contacts they generate.
“
Being a student, often alone in a university residence, I regret these end of days when we decompressed with friends, drinking 'Sex on the beach' cocktails, gossiping about teachers,
” admits Jimmy, 19.
"
Every Sunday, we made up for the loss of our respective husbands by having lunch together at the restaurant
", declare Annick and her widowed friend.
Read also: Restaurants: our list of the best restaurants in France
Pierrick, in his thirties, evokes for his part the “
salutary
”
role
of these establishments in emerging relationships: “
It is there that we get to know each other, that we develop friendships.
It is neutral ground.
My job has always made me meet people, and it has often led me to create relationships - with the Covid, I no longer have the opportunity to go beyond superficial relationships.
"
“
Without restaurants and bars, I can't flirt anymore!
I do not meet anyone!
If the virus drags on, I will stay single all my life!
», Laments young Jonathan.
"
The restaurant is a place of love, where you maintain your relationship
", also summarizes Pierre, 44 years old.
On the terrace or in the dining room, you can develop your relationships ... or enjoy those of others.
“
Living alone, I mostly went to the brewery to meet people, and listen to the stories of my neighbors at the table,
” Julien laughs.
“
The restaurant is our only contact with the outside world, with people
”, deplore Pierre and Yvette, “
old retirees
”.
“
Now we're together, but we don't see anyone anymore.
Like in a bubble ...
”.
“
Going to the bistro alone is a social bond!
Bertrand slice.
It's so depressing not to meet new people, not to interact with them anymore.
"
"
How many contracts have I made at the table?"
": Work at a standstill
"
I thought these closures were going to prevent me from having fun - ultimately, they also prevent me from working
."
George, a self-employed entrepreneur, used and abused these shared meals to convince his clients.
"
How many contracts have I made at the table?"
I don't even know ...
""
I miss it terribly not to have lunch with my colleagues!
", Assures Jeanne, who evokes, in addition to a"
less 'funky
'
atmosphere
","
lost professional opportunities
".
Eric, writer, considered terraces as a major source of inspiration.
"
Despite the voices, the shocks of cutlery, the passage of cars, I found concentration
", influenced by the words of passers-by, customers and waiters.
Read also: Illegal restaurants: the risky taste of the forbidden
How not to evoke, also, the sad fate of the catering employees?
“
I am a bartender, or rather was.
I was doing this job for the convivial, festive side ... From now on, I am resigned: my job will undoubtedly die
”, confided in a previous article Charlotte, in her thirties.
She plans, like so many other French people, to change jobs.
The counter of the Petit Bar in Paris.
JULIEN BOUDISSEAU / LE FIGARO
Gaël Brulé, sociologist of happiness: "
At the bistro, we feed on each other's eyes
"
Gaël Brulé is a sociologist specializing in happiness and a researcher at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is the author of
Small Mythologies of French Happiness (Dunod editions, 2020)
, in which he describes hedonism as one of the French cultural dimensions.
LE FIGARO. - What do bars and restaurants represent for the French?
Gael BRULÉ. -
They are the backbone of our society.
We socialize there, we build our relationships.
In cities as well as in the countryside, these businesses always occupy a strategic place: at the corner of streets and boulevards, or on the square of a village.
They are central places because they structure everyday life.
The meals themselves are already of particular importance for the French: in my book, I compare the number of minutes spent at the table in France with that of other European countries, and we are unsurprisingly in first place .
Is a restaurant meal really that different from a meal at home, alone or with friends?
At home, we are reclusive with family or closest friends.
We consolidate what we call, in sociology, our strong links.
At the restaurant, we forge our weak ties, since we feed on the views of each other, strangers, and we feed on the surrounding discussions.
So we have the impression of being part of a whole, of making, in a way, society.
This is also why the French are so numerous to go to the bistro alone.
Does the persistence of sanitary restrictions risk killing our relationship with terraces and at the counter?
There is a significant risk, indeed.
A year of confinement can make a lasting impression on us.
To what extent, on the other hand, I do not know: will we almost no longer go to closed places?
Will there be fewer of us?
Are we going to lose the “
melee
”
effect
at the bar?
We can draw a parallel with the arrival of smartphones, which has changed the way we consume, communicate, and present ourselves to others.
Each era brings its share of changes, and I have always been fascinated by the ability of humans to find an implausible situation normal a few years ago.
I am actually afraid that health restrictions will multiply the existence of small physical islands, connected by digital.
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