The Nantes Christmas market is held at Place Royale and Place du Commerce.

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F. Brenon / 20Minutes

  • The Nantes company 2A organization, which manages several Christmas markets in the West, will reimburse 50% of the sums paid by exhibitors, as stipulated in the contract.

  • Not enough, denounce disgruntled traders, already weakened by the crisis.

"They cashed me 10,000 euros, and I haven't recovered anything to date."

While the Nantes Christmas market should have opened its doors a week ago, the atmosphere is not really celebratory for Romain Thibert.

This merchant from Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, who sells nurseries and decoration, is struggling to recover from the cancellations (for health reasons) of the Nantes and Angers markets in which he was to participate.

In question, according to him, the "incomprehensible" attitude of the organizer, the Nantes company 2A organization, which does not intend to reimburse more than 50% of the sums paid by exhibitors for the rental of chalets (Nantes, Angers, Le Mans , Rouen, Boulogne) which it manages in France.

Like him, a hundred disgruntled traders have joined together in a collective and are now asking to review their money ... And this even if the contract they all signed this summer clearly mentioned this deduction in the event of cancellation.

“If we wanted our place, we had no choice but to accept, said Antoine Horel, spokesperson for the collective today.

We were optimistic, and then when the cancellations fell, we all thought the company was going to intelligently open the negotiating table.

Instead, she continues to cash checks, turning a deaf ear.

"" This is wrong, replies 2A organization.

We make sure to respond to all of our customers. ”

"We really have the balls"

Already weakened by the crisis, these traders, who are ready to give up on the several hundred euros in administrative fees, ask to recover everything else.

"I am a self-employed person, I usually make 40% of my turnover thanks to Christmas markets," explains Robin Richeux, who manufactures leather belts.

The 2,850 euros invested to rent my chalet is a huge sum!

We really have the balls, we know that we shoot ourselves in the foot by denouncing the situation, but it is really not possible to leave us like that.

"

An "injustice" that some consider downright "illegal".

To the point of initiating a summary action with the Nantes commercial court.

“The pandemic was something well known, so the force majeure registered in the clause is not proven, ensures Jacques Chevalier, trader in Savenay and at the origin of the approach, which would bring together about twenty exhibitors.

Why would 2A keep half of the sum when they no longer have any security, assembly, logistics costs…?

It's extremely bloated.

"

Company 2A defends itself

Solicited by

20 Minutes

, the company 2A organization assures that traders who have not yet been reimbursed for half of their payment will be "in the days or weeks to come".

However, there is no question of going beyond what was initially planned.

"It is impossible because it would put our company in danger," explains Thibault Delourme, the managing director of this company of 36 employees.

We are also losing a lot of money, between 130,000 and 150,000 euros just for the Christmas market in Nantes.

"According to him, it was necessary to" share the risks "insofar as" insurance does not play the game ". 

A meeting is to take place in Angers town hall this Tuesday morning.

Nantes Métropole, she indicated working on "a transactional protocol" with the company 2A in order to make "a shared financial effort towards the 116 traders who have reserved a chalet on the Christmas market", without further clarification.

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  • Christmas

  • Angers

  • Tradespeople

  • Economy

  • Nantes

  • Christmas market