The announcement of the drop in the maximum tonnage in major events in the "heightened alert" zone was seen as a real blow by the event professionals.

Already hard hit during the first wave, the sector is already seeing the consequences of this new measure.  

This is a new blow for event professionals.

As of this Saturday, in the 11 metropolitan areas in the "enhanced alert" zone, the maximum level of people who can participate in major events is lowered to 1,000, against 5,000 previously.

A real blow to this sector already heavily impacted by the first wave of coronavirus last spring.

And the consequences are immediate. 

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"Everything was ready, mounted ..."

This is the case, for example, of the Saint-Étienne fair which should have started this Friday evening.

It was canceled at the last minute.

"Everything was ready, assembled ... It's cataclysmic", explains the company in charge of the event, GL Event, at the microphone of Europe 1.

Another large trade fair canceled, that of food professionals, the CFIA, which was to be held in Rennes at the end of September.

Cancellations like these, professionals expect to see happen in cascade since the announcements of Olivier Véran.  

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"A feeling of injustice and total incomprehension"

Anger rises in some.

"There is a feeling of injustice and total incomprehension, especially when one compares with shopping centers and other places of reception", testifies Olivier Roux, president of Unimev, the union of the organizers of fairs, shows and congresses.

"We have a very restrictive health protocol validated by the ministries that we implement each time. But we realize that this is not a sufficient condition for openness. While other sectors do not have that constraint. "

Beyond the anger, it is the concern that resurfaces within this sector generating 450,000 direct and indirect jobs, and which has already lost 80% of its turnover this year.

Professionals in the sector are therefore asking for more clarity and support from the public authorities.

"We are not asking for a stimulus plan, but a rescue plan."