Le Figaro Marseille
“For us, it’s very, very, very hard
. ”
Sitting in the middle of her almost empty establishment, Éléa Josserand does not hide her concern.
The manager of the Flashback café, rue de la République, not far from the Old Port, is forced to make this sad observation.
This former beer bar converted into a café and restaurant opened its doors last September.
A month later, the press revealed the closure of the metro at night from Monday to Thursday from 9:30 p.m.
Four months after the reopening, it is the turn of the tram which serves Rue de la République, in the city center, to be stopped until at least April 15, due to an arson.
“The drop in attendance is enormous,”
laments Éléa Josserand.
In the old establishment, there was a regular clientele, especially in the evening.
Since the announcement of the closure of the metro and tram, we no longer have anyone, especially in the evening.
On weekends, it's okay, but during the week, when it was very low, it's even more so.
There has been a drop in turnover of 60% compared to last year.
We see it in the streets: after 9 p.m., outside, it’s empty.”
“The problem I have is that we hired people 35 hours before learning of the closure of the metro and then the tram,”
she continues.
And today, I can't tell them not to work 35 hours.
And we are clearly in deficit, with a big cash flow problem.”
A turnover halved
A case which is far from isolated, according to the president of the association La République des traders, which brings together traders from the eponymous street.
“If no measures are taken quickly, we risk having traders who file for bankruptcy at the chain
,” warns Alexandre Seddic.
“The basis of all commerce is accessibility.
Without accessibility, customers cannot access businesses.
And we note a net loss of attendance concomitant with the tram stopping.
Many businesses have a loss of turnover of around 50%.
Some restaurateurs are also facing cancellations.”
“There is a reduction in attendance because people who came by public transport no longer come,”
says Bernard Marty, president of the union of hotel trades and industries (UMIH) of Bouches-du-Rhône .
“But for us, our costs remain the same,”
notes Éléa Josserand.
We're not trying to boost our marketing as much as possible to give people reason to come and see us on purpose.
But we are being forced to close public transport and that is weighing on our turnover.
During Covid, there was help for us restaurateurs.
Isn’t it possible to help us there too?”
Two amendments to the metropolitan council
The left-wing opposition group
“for a metropolis of the common good”
has tabled two amendments for this Thursday's metropolitan council aimed at helping traders in downtown Marseille.
In these two amendments that
Le Figaro
was able to consult, these elected officials ask the president of the metropolis, Martine Vassal, to include traders affected by the closure of the metro and tram in the metropolitan commission for amicable compensation for economic damage.
“Rue de la République had already been in a fragile situation for quite a long time because there are shopping centers on both sides,”
recalls Perrine Prigent, who is carrying these amendments.
Cutting the tramway over such a long period of time has an impact on economic activity.”
According to the metropolitan councilor, it is currently unknown whether this amendment, presented within the framework of a metropolitan office, will be put to the vote this Thursday or not.
“The absence of a precise date concerning the reopening is detrimental,”
adds Alexandre Seddic.
If there are some who are going to completely file for bankruptcy, others can hold on but need to be able to organize themselves, for example by taking technical unemployment measures or other things that would allow them to recover. round until a certain date.”
“For traders in the Republic, they have insurance and their insurance must be close to the insurance of the parking lot where the disaster originated,”
the metropolis of Aix-Marseille Provence
recommends to Le
Figaro .
The metropolis remains attentive to the situation of traders and recalls that barely 1% of all users used the metro after 9 p.m., i.e. between 4,000 and 6,000 people.
Replacement buses have been put in place.
And the other tram lines are operating normally.”
As a reminder, the tram should operate normally again from April 15.
For the metro, the situation should last until next October.