For this restaurateur from a town in eastern France, it was out of the question to control his own customers: he is "
not their mother
".
With or without a health pass, therefore, everyone continues to be welcomed in his establishment, and the entry into force of the summer measures has not changed anything.
It must be said that the irreducible innkeeper is not at his first attempt: during confinement, he continued to serve thirty to forty place settings a day, as if nothing had happened ...
Read also: Health pass: the executive faced with the persistence of the sling
But here it is: against a background of growing protest, this refractory holds there a real marketing argument. And the customers of the bar are not mistaken, who come more numerous than usual to sip with their beer the savory taste of freedom. “
People have known me for a long time,” he
explains.
They know that I am not in conformity ... They tell each other, they talk about it, and the rumor spreads. Those who come to drink here today do so in part because they know I wouldn't bother them.
"
One of them adds all the same that the configuration of the place also helps to take the risk of dining there, even without a sanitary pass: overlooking a small courtyard, the tavern offers a comfortable "
emergency exit
" to the
restaurant.
case where the police come to make an impromptu visit. As for the risk of an administrative closure, the boss fears it but puts it somewhat into perspective:
“
With an emergency referral
, we can considerably reduce the closure time; but in the end every day counts, and when I stay closed I have no money coming in
".
So, if we have to go through it, there are always the old schemes.
Like this one: you can scan the same QR code five times for five different customers.
The application available to restaurateurs, it does not make the difference and the manager of the place can always explain to have been fooled in case the patrol arrives.
Moreover, the city assures for its part to the
Figaro
not
to
have "
not knowledge
" of this initiative, and to continue despite everything the controls in the establishments of its territory subjected to the obligation to verify the sanitary pass.
"
All welcome
"
This restaurant which loudly proclaims its attachment to the “
free zone
” is not the only one;
and to encourage disobedience, a movement was even born on social networks, offering recalcitrant people to bait unvaccinated customers by means of a discreet little green button distributed to those who request it.
"
Here, we respect your freedom, your dignity and medical confidentiality
" can we read, in the middle of a slogan, "
all welcome
", which forms a funny counterfeit of the famous "
come as you are
" of a well-known fast-food brand.
"Free zone" proclaims this green badge displayed on the windows of certain restaurateurs.
Facebook screenshot
Originally, however, the initiative was not that insolent: "
I had the intuition that a positive message was needed to counterbalance the gloominess of Emmanuel Macron's announcements
", confides the instigator of the movement. The day after the introduction of the health pass, he then suggests to those of the traders in his district who are not subject to the obligation to control the pass to display the small green badge, to remind customers that it remains "
some areas of freedom
”. “
It was a way of federating behind a cheerful message, but I did not have in mind to launch a movement of civil disobedience
,” he adds.
Appetite comes with eating.
While the sticker is a great success, it is quickly requested by restaurateurs ("
about twenty in a few days
") who already imagine making it the emblem of their refusal to apply the instructions.
And harmless that he was, here is the little green badge that has become a dissident symbol in spite of himself.
Read also: Restaurants, shops: the sanitary pass attempt to aggregate places without restrictions on a website
The trouble is, being visible is a double-edged sword. Just as the idea, for a time imagined by the collective, of constituting a directory of refractory establishments, is still at a standstill. And if he is "
careful not to communicate the names and addresses of restaurateurs
" who have asked him for buttons, the founder of "
Free Zone
" therefore admits that reconciling the desire to publicize these establishments, while preserving them from control. administrative disagreeable, constitutes an odd number of balancing act. Although all the restaurants concerned do not have the same concern for discretion: some do not even hesitate to communicate with the local press,
as here with our colleagues from La Dépêche
.
For the more careful, the little green circle remains hidden in the cash drawer, and we only take it out discreetly, for a few photos with colluding customers. Many of the rest recognize it: if one wants to receive unvaccinated clients without attracting too much attention, the safest way is to rely on word of mouth. Message received five out of five for many subscribers of the Facebook page of the movement "
Free Zone
", who publish only very vague information ("
Free Zone to [...] at a courageous restaurateur
") and then communicate the good addresses than by private message.
