While Emmanuel Macron mentioned a potential reopening of the terraces in mid-May, catering professionals are starting to organize.

But closed for more than five months because of the pandemic, they need a fixed date to be given to them.

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It is a date that everyone will keep in mind, starting with the restaurant owners.

Wednesday evening, during his speech, Emmanuel Macron mentioned the reopening of the terraces in mid-May.

But while the whole of France has been reconfigured since Saturday evening for four weeks, professionals in the catering sector are asking for details.

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"Our suppliers need to prepare"

After more than five months of closure, this new course outlined by Emmanuel Macron puts a little balm in the hearts of restaurateurs, but this little light at the end of the tunnel is not enough to reassure Laurent Duc, president of the hospitality branch at the Union trades and hotel industries.

"I have the impression of being during a war, where food is distributed to the population or from a helicopter by throwing parcels out the window," he said at the microphone of Europe 1. "La cow we're going to eat in four weeks, she's not dead yet. Our suppliers need to prepare for us to open. That's why dates are important. "

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May 15, "not a fixed opening date"

A precise date, therefore.

Yes, but how to fix a date while the opening of the country is based on the evolution of the virus?

According to Alain Griset, Minister for SMEs, all the government can do for now is refine the health protocol to anticipate as much as possible.

"The president did not indicate May 15 as a fixed opening date," recalls the minister.

"These professionals have already made a lot of efforts. As soon as we have very precise information, we can tell them at that time, and they can start working again," he continues, conceding the strong expectation in which he is find professionals in the sector.

Now, the industry is calling for the vaccination of catering staff in May for the opening, regardless of the age group.