The famous avenue, cooled by the low temperatures of this December morning, has kept only a few aftermaths of the clashes which took place on the evening of Saturday December 10 at the end of the quarter-finals, between supporters of Morocco and forces of order: cracked and taped windows, condemned entrances, tagged storefronts.
If the tourists continue to stroll, the atmosphere is quite different behind the automatic doors and the café terraces.
Restaurateurs and traders are preparing for further damage on Wednesday evening, whatever the result of this World Cup semi-final which gives rise to an unprecedented meeting: France-Morocco.
System D: closures and palisades
"
The traders are very anxious, they do not know how it will turn out
," said Jeanne d'Hauteserre, the LR mayor of the 8th arrondissement on
Sud Radio,
this Tuesday, December 13.
“
Everyone is afraid of a war, of a guerrilla, of a civil war
”, she had affirmed the old woman on
Cnews
.
“
We would not want the Champs-Élysées to be transformed into a battlefield
”.
The anxiety is indeed palpable on the main avenue this Tuesday morning.
"
We had to close urgently on Saturday evening, when it was not planned
," says the saleswoman of a clothing store timidly.
If the latter gives up, most traders politely but firmly refuse to answer us: “
we were asked not to answer these questions
” or even, “
head office refuses that we communicate on this subject
”.
One of the vendors, gone to look for the team manager, comes down sheepishly and gestures to us to point out that the management is reluctant to receive us.
"
She's a little scared, you know what I mean
," the salesman slips discreetly.
Indeed, traders and restaurateurs are afraid that their statement could turn against them.
Read alsoWorld Cup: in Paris, a Moroccan qualification between jubilation and violence
Despite this, some sellers agree (sometimes unofficially) to testify to the concern of brands.
The vast majority of them put in place protective measures: “
the head office asked us to put up palisades at the end of the day, which was not the case last Saturday
”, confides to us the seller of a known sign.
“
There will also be security guards who will stay in the evening after the store closes to check that it is not looted
,” he adds.
For their part, two sales assistants from a cosmetics brand qualify: “
People were there to party!
".
Before specifying: "
but the headquarters asked us to have palisades and two security guards instead of one for Wednesday
".
As for the "
yellow vests
", the stores of the famous avenue will barricade themselves behind wooden planks.
For some, the provisions will be more important.
The owner of a restaurant explains to us that If the weekend, the restaurateur had to close three hours in advance, he fears an even more difficult situation this Wednesday: "I will
close as soon as it is too dangerous, anyway all customers who do not want a problem will leave immediately
”.
"
'Normal' people don't want to find themselves in the middle of clashes
," he breathes.
A large police force
The police device announced by the voice of Gérald Darmanin for Wednesday evening also testifies to a certain concern: “
10,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized.
5,000 in the Paris region, and particularly around the Champs-Élysées
”, he explained in the hemicycle.
The prefects will also have to proceed
"with the removal of garbage cans, construction barriers or any other material that can be used as a weapon by destination, in the perimeters identified as likely to accommodate large crowds at the end of the match",
announced the Minister of the Interior.
For the merchants of the main avenue, it's a relief.
Many cobblestones torn from construction sites in progress on the avenue had flown Saturday evening in the direction of the police: "
if it is not the cobblestones, it will be the barriers of the construction site, everything must be removed
", creaks a clothes saleswoman.
Work in progress on the Champs-Élysées, the equipment of which could be used in the event of clashes between supporters and the police.
EB - Le Figaro
For her part, the mayor of the 8th arrondissement wants to go further and close the avenue from "Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe to traffic
to prevent overflows as well
".
"
There had already been excesses and looting in 2018 when France won
," she added.
The Champs-Élysées have become “a target”
Indeed, these are not the first clashes of which the Champs-Élysées are the scene.
For many shopkeepers and restaurateurs, this situation brings back difficult memories: "
everything converges towards the Champs-Élysées now, especially since the
'
yellow vests
'", says the salesman of a store.
“At
each event, each crisis, each sporting event, this is where it happens
,” he says.
The people who come now are to fight it out: they no longer come with small firecrackers but with shells!
A restorer
And for traders, there was no choice but to adapt.
"On
the Champs-Élysées, it's very unpredictable, it explodes all of a sudden
", explains the saleswoman of a clothing store.
And this worry is now an integral part of their daily lives.
“
Fifteen or twenty years ago, it was impossible to hold a demonstration on the Champs-Élysées, now it's all the time!
», annoys a restaurant owner.
“
The avenue is a symbol, it concentrates the anger, the claims, it is enough to see what could have happened at Fouquet's
”, he breathes.
And for traders, it is not only the frequency of rallies that has changed, but also their nature.
Looting, burnt cars, mortars, are cited pell-mell by vendors and waiters.
"
Today, the people who come, it's to fight it out, they don't come with small firecrackers but with shells
", assures a restaurateur.
"
We are on an avenue that allows a lot of things, but now it's several times a year: July 14, New Year's Eve, November 11, demonstrations,"
he grumbles.
If the presence of the police reassures them, it does not come to the end of the overflows: “
it tries to contain the violence but it is difficult
”, continues the restaurateur.
“
I'm not saying the solution has to be radical, but the police should have more freedom
.
