TESTIMONY
The city of Lourdes is experiencing a strange August 15. Usually, for the Assumption, 25,000 pilgrims flock to the sanctuary. But this year, such a gathering is simply impossible because of the health crisis. In the basilica, which can accommodate up to 25,000 people, new ornaments have appeared. "5,000 markings that have been made, 1,600 points materialized on the benches", explained at the microphone of Europe 1 Sébastien Maysounave, responsible for the security of the Sanctuary. The number of faithful who can access the site divided by five, this weekend of the Assumption has dramatic consequences for the hotels of the city. "A cataclysm", deplores at the microphone of Europe 1 the president of the Union of trades and hospitality industry of the Hautes-Pyrénées, Christian Gélis.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Saturday August 15
"If we make 100,000 overnight stays, it will be the end of the world"
“Look, there isn't a cat,” he says. "And although there are people walking around, most of them come on excursions and don't stay." As a result, frequentation in hotels is particularly low this year. "It's a clientele that comes from the Occitanie region and you have a few people who come from a little further away by car, but every day, it's only a few clients per hotel", regrets Christian Gélis.
“Usually, we have 2,600,000 overnight stays and this year, if we do 100,000, it will be the end of the world,” says Christian Gélis. "We cannot bring structures like that to life, it's really a cataclysm".
>> Find all the newspapers of the editorial staff of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here
The president of the Hautes-Pyrénées Hospitality Trades and Industry Union calls for mobilization to support businesses in the holy city. "We must get them to still exist in 2021 if we want them to be actors in the recovery," he said, before concluding by recalling the importance of the hotel sector in the city's economy. "Lourdes is still the second largest hotel city in France and today, 140 establishments are in uncertainty and in difficulty".