"Yellow Vests": "a real catastrophe" for small businesses

The movement of "yellow vests" represents "a real catastrophe" for small businesses, said Saturday on France Inter President of the Confederation of French traders.

"This is a real disaster and it is a real psychological disaster, I think, I hope that Saturday is the last of the last for the event," said Francis Palombi, president of this confederation.

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Sales figures "very bad". Francis Palombi added that the sales figures "are very bad", stating that the decline in turnover was between "40% and 70% according to the corporations", which is in the middle of Christmas shopping season, crucial for trade.

The Confederation of Merchants represents 20 independent professional federations, with companies of less than 11 employees or not counting any employee, thus the small businesses of the commerce and the commercial craftsmanship, explained its president.

"A hijacking of the economy". He called on the yellow vests to "get around the negotiating table" and ruled that "the President of the Republic made some significant proposals, proposals that we had never heard". "It's a kind of hostage hijacking of the economy we're watching," said Francis Palombi, calling on the yellow vests "to get back to your senses".

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The loss of turnover for physical businesses was not offset by an increase in online purchases, for its part Saturday the president of the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling (Fevad) to RTL microphone. "We had a very good weekend of Black Friday (November 23rd), but since the sales are in line with forecasts, neither more nor less, there has been no explosion of sales on the internet", said François Momboisse.

"We've noticed that people have their minds elsewhere, we've seen this with the dramatic events of the Bataclan three years ago when there were no purchases in stores or on the internet for 15 days," he said. reminded the president of the Fevad.