After the G7 in Biarritz, the prefecture has already received about thirty records of traders, according to our information. The government promised an envelope of 350,000 euros to compensate those who remained open but did not see customers in the bunkerized district of the event. A new meeting was held this week to try to think about the distribution of this compensation because conditions remain unclear.
The central question: on which criteria to evaluate the losses? The problem is whether, for example, we compare the last 15 days of August to the same period last year; if we consider that only the merchants of Biarritz are compensated, or if we also count those of Hendaye or Bayonne, victims of the counter-summits organized in their city.
A loss of 20,000 euros of turnover
So many questions that remain to be decided. "Today I believe in it, but the expected 350,000 euros seem to me insufficient when we see the sales that have been lost," said Dominique Heugas, who runs a creperie on the waterfront of Biarritz. His restaurant was barricaded during the G7 and did not host a client for 4 days. The restaurant owner estimates that he lost nearly 20,000 euros in turnover.
The ministry assures that if the needs are greater, a new envelope could be unlocked. The government wants to go fast and promises that traders will be compensated by the end of the year.