- Readers of 20 Minutes tell us what they plan to do for the summer vacation.
- Between canceling holidays and hoping to be able to leave, everyone expects to be able to breathe a little.
- For its part, the government recommends stays in France for the summer break.
Should I stay or should I go ? Like The Clash, the French wonder if they will be able to go on vacation this summer or stay at home because of the coronavirus. The date of May 11 was advanced by Emmanuel Macron as marking the possible beginning of deconfinement, but there are still many unknowns concerning the summer season today.
Even the government seems to doubt: "I advise the French to be very careful when preparing their trips, because the situation today is still too uncertain (...). I advise you to wait, ”explained the Secretary of State for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, in early April. Before being corrected a few hours later by the Minister for the Ecological Transition, Elisabeth Borne: "The point of vigilance underlined by Jean-Baptiste Djebbari is that today is not the time to buy a ticket to go to the other side of the planet (…). We can recommend to the French to take advantage of our beautiful country for the next holidays, which will also help the tourism sector [see box] ”.
"I will wait until the last moment"
What to hesitate many Internet users who have testified to 20 Minutes . Given the situation, many of them fear that they will not be able to take advantage of their holidays. “I have booked my summer vacation in August since December to go to Norway, explains Christine. In the absence of information from the government and my travel agency, I am waiting to see if I can leave or not and will cancel at the last moment. ”
"I took my tickets for the summer holidays, with a departure at the end of June, by boat, for Tunisia," says Mam. I hope that by then the borders will be open. These are the only holidays of the year and I pay them in installments so that I can go with my children. ” Allisson finds himself in a similar situation: “I have to leave on June 27 at Jard-sur-mer (Vendée). I will wait until the last moment, because if the restaurants and bars are still closed, I will cancel. ”
" This is only a postponement "
In his speech on April 13, Emmanuel Macron said that these businesses would remain closed after May 11, without giving further details. However for many French people, it is impossible to spend a holiday without being able to go to a restaurant or have a drink on the terrace. For Emilie, it would be too risky anyway: "we're going to stay at home, we're going to invest in a small swimming pool and for the first time in my life, I'm not going to the beach this summer, I haven't not trust. And honestly, there is a worse situation ”. "Suffering from diabetes, hypertension, and in remission from cancer, I am one of the people at risk, so I preferred to cancel my reservation," continues Geneviève. It was my first vacation in years, however. "
And the first concerned, managers or employees of shops forced to close, how do they live the situation? For them, vacations have long been forgotten. "My husband works in the restaurant industry and he has been completely unemployed since the announcement of the confinement," says Myriam. For this summer, we had to go to Venice in June, but like many French people, we are canceling our trip. We are lucky to have a garden and will spend our summer at home. This is only a postponement. "
For Jean-Loup and his wife, managers of a restaurant, the context is very difficult. "We will try to cancel our planned stay in August, for which we have already paid 700 euros," he writes. I would have liked to be able to postpone it to 2021, but the uncertainty with regard to our job as a restaurateur is great. We are not immune to a permanent closure linked to this current health crisis. "
"We will find a quiet place"
Other future vacationers have decided on another strategy: for them, no question of giving up their holidays, they will leave at any cost. “We had to book a two-week stay in Portugal in July, explains Hervé, but this damn virus turned our plans upside down. The decision was as simple as it was quick. This year, it will be a stay in France to support, at our small level, an economic sector which will have trouble recovering. ”
For his part, Flo is not at all worried: “We bought a motorhome in January, which allows us not to worry too much about our summer destination. We are a family, with two young boys very happy to leave. At worst, if there were never any campsites this year, there will be a field or a quiet place to rest. "
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Government measures to help tourism
Sector particularly affected by the epidemic, tourism has been completely stopped for a month because of confinement. To avoid corporate bankruptcies as much as possible, the government has announced several measures to support professionals:
- Organized trips, all-inclusive stays and independent services such as accommodation (camping, house rental) or car rental that will have been canceled from March 1 and until September 15, due to the Covid -19, can be postponed for 18 months by means of a "credit", which was created by ordinance. The professional may offer an equivalent service or a higher amount, or even several stays of a lower amount. At the end of the 18 months, if the customer has not used his credit, he can obtain a refund.
- 750 million euros in tax and social charges currently deferred for companies in the hotel, catering and arts and entertainment sectors should finally be canceled, in order to relieve the cash flow of these sectors.
A meeting is scheduled for Friday with industry players and the government to take stock of possible additional measures.
- Containment
- Economy
- Summer holidays
- Coronavirus