For them, there hasn't really been any deconfinement since October 30.
At the start of the week, restaurant owners were asked by the government to present “
urgently
” organizational ideas with a view to a potential reopening.
A glimmer of hope ?
The representatives of the profession prefer to remain cautious, but they anticipate in any case a protocol to convince the government to allow them to resume their activities.
Representatives of the profession will give Prime Minister Jean Castex an eight-page document this Friday presenting their expectations regarding the reopening.
Read also: Covid-19: Could France reopen restaurants for lunch as in Spain?
Overall, professionals hope to find the health protocol that was already in place during the first deconfinement: compulsory mask for restaurant employees and customers before the first course, distance from tables of 1 meter, with never more than six guests.
After a trying year for the profession, there is no question of unduly complicating the health protocol in the establishments.
"
This protocol has proved its worth,"
argues Hervé Dijols, president of the national thematic and commercial catering union (SNRTC),
which takes part in discussions with the government.
If we increased the distance between the tables, which means lowering the restaurant reception gauge, some would not reach the breakeven point and would not open.
"
QR Codes
A novelty, however: restaurant owners' representatives are currently working on the implementation of QR codes in restaurants, in order to take over from the reminder notebooks.
These were to alert restaurant customers if another person in the room testified positive in the days following the meal.
The QR code, developed hand in hand with the cabinet of Secretary of State for Digital Cédric O, will have the same function, but it will allow an automated recall.
This device should be ready in April.
Reminder books, for their part, would not disappear completely, in order to allow people who do not have a smartphone to be reminded also if they were in contact.
A schedule to be defined
As a first step, representatives of the profession are calling for restaurants to be reopened only at lunchtime, while allowing hotels to carry out their evening service for the sake of consistency.
In addition, while the management of the epidemic is more and more territorialized (with in particular a containment on weekends in Pas-de-Calais, Dunkirk and in the Alpes-Maritimes) they propose to reopen the restaurants only. in regions where the epidemic situation allows it.
"
We are thinking in particular of the Atlantic coast and the English Channel,"
explains Didier Chenet, president of the national group of independent hotel and catering companies (GNI HCR).
But also in Auvergne, and part of the southwest.
We are also proposing a major vaccination campaign for catering employees, without age criteria, to prevent transmission.
"
Read also: Marseille wants to test a new protocol for restaurants
There remains the question of the timetable.
For Didier Chenet, it is essential that the government announce the date of reopening of restaurants three weeks in advance to allow "to
reform the teams, who have worked very little for almost a year, and to ensure that the equipment is in. the state for the recovery
”, explains the president of the GNI HCR.
Ideally, this resumption of catering activity would take place in mid-April - a deadline at which government spokesman Gabriel Attal dangles, perhaps, "
a return to a more normal life
".
Ideally again, professionals want establishments to be able to resume their evening service in the following weeks, which implies the lifting of the curfew.
Until then, the unions are calling for a strengthening of controls to put an end to the phenomenon of illegal restaurants, which negatively affected the image of the profession.
Finally, they are calling for the reopening of bars and nightclubs in June.
Adapt assistance systems
At present, there is nothing to ensure that this schedule will be followed by the government: the time is rather to strengthen health measures with in particular the increase in local confinements.
“
Until now, we observed a medical dogmatism.
But now, we are also faced with a fed up with the French in the face of health measures, which the government must take into account,
”wants to believe Hervé Dijols, president of the SNRTC.
Read also: Covid-19: around forty deputies demand the reopening of restaurants for lunch at the end of March
The recovery will in any case be gradual.
Representatives of the profession met with Labor Minister Élisabeth Borne on Wednesday evening to discuss the future of the financial aid measures put in place by the State, currently essential to keep restaurants afloat.
“We must not stop this aid directly.
This could spoil all the efforts made over the past year to help restaurants,
”said Hervé Dijols, citing in particular the partial unemployment scheme and the solidarity fund.
Indeed, if restaurants were to reopen only at noon, many establishments would have to keep part of their teams on short-time work due to lack of activity.
"
Adapting aid to restaurants,
c
'is now something that the government has included
concludes Herve Dijols.
We will have to prepare a support phase after the deconfinement.
For the moment, it is rather vague
. ”
Hoping that this deconfinement will be the last.