Seven shopping centers and six DIY and home improvement stores at 94 * closed their doors on Friday at 6 p.m.
With more than 10,000 m² of useful retail space, they are added to the list of ten shopping centers and stores in Val-de-Marne of over 20,000 m² that have been closed since January 31 for health reasons.
As in 22 other particularly scrutinized French departments, the spread of Covid-19 worries in Val-de-Marne and the situation has prompted the State to take this new decision.
"It was predictable," sighs Ioannis, manager of the restaurant Greece, installed for 28 years at the shopping center Villejuif 7, which is part of this new list.
We expected a little, but not at the definitive closure of the center, only on weekends ”.
This restaurateur regrets having only one day to sell his stocks.
And made many promotions, to minimize losses.
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Greece employs five people at the moment.
A loan guaranteed by the state allowed him to keep the restaurant open.
However, the 6pm curfew had already put "a bullet in the foot".
This closure implies possible "forced holidays" for its employees, in order to reduce costs.
Other traders share Ioannis' distress.
"It's a little hard blow, especially since it's not the first," says Bopha, manager of the Camaïeu store.
She notices that there were a little more people than usual this Friday morning.
Customers from the Villejuif 7 shopping center this Friday morning are lining up in front of the tobacco press.
LP / Jean Cittone
"It's rebelote", expresses Ilyes, employee of Eco Pressing.
"We wait, we can't do anything else."
This dry cleaning handed over clean clothes to the last customers in the parking lot this Friday evening.
"Good sanitary sense"
Most of the shopping center customers come to shop at the Carrefour, which occupies 8,000 m² and will remain open.
"You have to take advantage of it," explains Sylvie, 56-year-old Villejuifoise, harnessed to a high table, drinking coffee.
"There are enough", she confides, annoyed by these new measures.
"We want good sanitary sense," explains Léa Maillet, director of Villejuif 7. The sooner it's done, the sooner we can open.
Having learned the new measures Thursday evening, she was at the bedside of traders this Friday, to accompany them.
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“From what we know, the hypermarket, the dental center and the pharmacy remain open,” explains the director of the center.
"The restaurants will organize themselves to make deliveries to the parking lot, and the opticians have taken orders until Friday evening."
With the authorization to deliver to the car park, after 6 p.m. if necessary, before closing shop.
“We are never happy to close, concludes Léa Maillet.
We are all waiting to be able to return to a normal life ”.
* Boissy 2 in Boissy-Saint-Léger, Orlydis in Orly, Leclerc in Bonneuil, Champigny and Vitry, Carrefour in L'Haÿ-les-Roses and Villejuif. List of closed stores: Bricoman de Bonneuil, Castorama de Fresnes, But de La Queue-en-Brie and Leroy-Merlin de Bonneuil, Ivry and Vitry.