Paris (AFP)
Bookstores closed against Fnac having finally decided to close its culture departments, clothing stores against supermarkets, toy stores against online platforms ... "Non-essential" stores protest against their closure due to re-containment, and denounce "competition unfair "of those who remain open.
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What are the essential businesses?
The decree on permitted commercial activities was released on Friday.
In addition to food businesses, opticians and pharmacies, multi-store stores, sellers of construction materials and hardware, animal feed, office automation, tobacco and vaping, vehicle repairs, laundries and even financial and insurance activities.
In addition, there are shopping centers, which "cannot accommodate a number of people greater than that allowing each to reserve an area of 4 m2", the prefect also being able to limit the maximum number of people.
Finally, the text authorizes all stores to "welcome the public" "for their delivery and collection activities", the famous click & collect (online ordering, in-store collection).
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And the others?
Obviously, those absent from the list are moved by it.
This is the case with toy stores.
"On December 25, Santa Claus passes under the trees, it is an essential need to be satisfied for all families", pleads Franck Mathais, spokesperson for JouéClub.
The click & collect?
Despite a strong acceleration this year, online sales still represent a very small part of the turnover of these specialized stores.
Among the other businesses forced to keep the door closed, in addition to bars and restaurants that do not offer take-out, perfumeries, hairdressing salons and beauty institutes.
Their professional federation, the FEBEA, pleads that "well-being is an essential element of health", says its president Patrick O'Quin.
Same argument from the florists, "plants are essential to life".
Other victims: booksellers, for whom the mobilization of cultural and political actors is strong, or ready-to-wear.
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Why "unfair competition"?
These specialized shops are stirred.
"The government, by proceeding in this way, has redistributed competitive positions," explains Franck Mathais.
In the case of toys, supermarkets or Fnac, for example, can remain open and sell them.
"They have already set up strong promotional campaigns to attract as many new consumers as possible!"
"Faced with the observation of the impossibility of opening all the players in the sale of books", Fnac-Darty finally decided on Friday to close "all the culture departments" of the Fnac stores for the next 15 days , starting Saturday morning.
This does not solve all the problems.
"The State is creating a cataclysm. If it maintains its positions, it will kill all the city centers," protests to AFP Michel Vieira, boss of the MDA household appliance discounter.
"We were able to resist the first wave but we can no longer accept the breach of equality with supermarkets and generalist sites that sell our products."
"I do not incriminate the large distribution", pointed out Friday morning on BFM Business the co-manager of Etam Laurent Milchior, but the buyers "will be able to make their gifts in other stores and I find that it is unfair competition ".
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What prospects?
The leader said he had started discussions with the Competition Authority.
But the latter explains to AFP that "the debate relates to the regulations put in place by the government", and "following a dispute before the administrative judge (Council of State) but not within the competence of the 'Authority that deals with business practices.
Precisely, the group La Maison de la bedie announced on Friday "to initiate an interim relief before the administrative court of Paris", denouncing an "unjustified and disproportionate interference with the freedom of trade".
The reactions of traders are epidermal because the period is crucial for their activity.
“Fifteen days in this period is two months of lost sales!” Exclaims Franck Mathais.
"And the stock in the toy stores as a whole is more than 600 million euros in sales value."
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