The agglomeration of Douai has decided to come to the aid of traders who have had to close shop because of the reconfinement.

For many of these traders, financial assistance and a quick reopening are questions of survival.

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The government wants to tighten the screw and strengthen health measures to fight against the coronavirus, with Christmas in its sights.

The aim is to preserve the end-of-year celebrations, which are particularly important for traders.

But no reopening of stores for non-essential products is planned at this stage.

Based on this observation, the agglomeration of Douai decided to come to the aid of traders in difficulty: it will pay their rents during the reconfinement.

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Welcome help

132 stores in 35 municipalities, forced to close due to the re-containment, will thus be able to benefit from this original device.

Nicolas, who runs a restaurant in the Douais metropolitan area, sells a few take-out meals which are prepared in the kitchen to maintain his activity.

But these preparations are far from maintaining its turnover: "It's a small inflow of money, but it does not cover the charges," he explains.

The help of the agglomeration is therefore a welcome breath of fresh air.

His monthly rent of 1,600 euros is not at his expense, at least for a few months.

"It's a thorn less. When I saw the news, I was happy. Because by dint of tapping into the treasuries, it becomes complicated", recognizes Nicolas.

Local authorities take their responsibilities

For the agglomeration community, Douaisis Agglo, this boost represents a monthly cost of 500,000 euros.

A large sum but well spent, according to Christian Poiret, the president of the agglomeration: "The State does its job, but it has its limits. The hole in the racket is really the rent, so you have to take it in charge."

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The president of the agglomeration community fears that, brought to their knees by the crisis, traders will leave the city centers.

"I want to keep them, these traders, because otherwise we will be facing additional unemployment."

However, this substantial aid does not compensate for all the losses of traders who have only one hope: a reopening of their store in the coming weeks.

However, this decision seems very unlikely, according to information from Europe 1. If Matignon claims to be aware of the complicated situation of traders, the health situation is, according to the executive, still not tenable and does not allow such measured.