The Fiesta des Suds has been canceled (photo illustration).

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P.MAGNIEN / 20 MINUTES

  • Of the 500 small and medium-sized enterprises in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur surveyed, 22% have already resorted to layoffs, and half say they are in danger.

  • The cancellation of the Marseille Fair and many other festivals and exhibitions has a lasting impact on the events sector, which calls for the establishment of a legal health protocol.

  • "We can go to restaurants, cafes, it is very likely that we can do supervised events", launches the co-president of the union events activities.

"We are already in the economic tsunami".

In this new school year, the Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME) Sud Paca went to take the temperature with its members.

And the results are not good.

According to this survey, to which 500 VSEs and SMEs in the region responded, half of the companies (52%) say they are in danger.

Even more, "25% will not pass the course of this end of the year", worries Alain Gargani, the president of the CPME, who is sounding the alarm.

For the moment, cash flow problems are only third among the difficulties companies say they are encountering.

First come the drop in attendance and order intake, then the messy cancellations of markets.

"We still benefit from the loan guaranteed by the State," continues the leader.

It's a little calm before the storm, we dread the month of March a lot.

Because it will be necessary to repay this loan: it is a debt, in no case a subsidy.

Alain Gargani anticipates a social crisis.

Already, he points out, "22% of companies claim to have made redundancies totally or in part".

"We could have saved the Fête du Vent"

So, in this context, the cancellation by prefectural decree of the Marseille Fair always goes wrong.

“This was a big blow to the local economy, some small companies make 30% to 40% of their turnover on this event which, in terms of impact on the territory, is of the order of 80 to 100 million euros ”, regrets Alain Gargani.

"In a few seconds, we lost a million euros in turnover", continues Cédric Angelone, director of the communication agency Artkom.

In full confinement, he cofounded the union of events activities to bring together the players in this sector particularly affected by the health crisis.

"The month of September represented a hope of recovery, they break the economic dynamic", he denounces.

The Marseille Fair, but also the Fiesta des Suds, the Iron Man in Nice and Aix-en-Provence, the Delta Festival, the World Conservation Congress… There are no longer any canceled events in the region.

Even the 2020 edition of the Fête du Vent which takes place on the open-air Prado beaches will not take place this year. "We could have defended this event, saved it", assures Cédric Angelone, who wears the model of the feria d'Arles held despite the health situation.

"We can go to restaurants, cafes, it is very likely that we can organize organized events," he continues.

The health threat must be treated like the terrorist threat.

We didn't stop playing football because there was the Heysel.

Solutions must be found, such as training security guards to respect barrier gestures.

But above all, we are calling for the establishment of a legal health framework, our industry needs stability.

In the meantime, he clings to each sustained event like a victory over the ambient air.

Like the Marseille clearance sale, postponed to October 10, but still on the agenda.

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