Elise Denjean, edited by Solène Delinger 5:11 p.m., December 16, 2021

While the period between Christmas and New Years is generally one of the quietest of the year in terms of economic activity, French companies are currently overwhelmed.

Consequence: they will not carry out the famous truce for confectioners and will remain open between December 24 and January 1.

No truce for confectioners this year.

As the Christmas holidays approach, businesses, which usually close between January 24 and January 1, are overwhelmed with demand.

Employees therefore have no choice: they will have to work between Christmas Eve and New Year to meet the enthusiasm of individuals.

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A first in 17 years for a business owner

Laurent Gohe, business manager, finds himself at the foot of the wall.

The boss of the company Fingerstyle, which manufactures in Cholet custom-made accessories for the equipment of luxury shops or even dressing rooms, is already nearly three weeks behind on his order book.

He will therefore be forced to run his workshop between Christmas and New Year's Day, a first in nearly 17 years of existence.

"On the one hand, there is the delay which is a little longer in terms of the supply of raw materials, but also the enthusiasm of individuals", explains Laurent Gohe at the microphone of Europe 1. "It is linked to the Covid crisis, "he adds. 

"We did not expect such an activity"

Fingerstyle, which seeks to recruit varnishers, struggles to find qualified labor. And she's not the only one. The Beager company, which specializes in recruitment, will also have to continue its activity between Christmas and New Years. Its director, Charly Gaillard, made the decision in mid-November. "We realize that the seasonality of our activity has completely changed. Already this summer, we had started to resume much earlier than usual. So we had started to anticipate the end of the year which would perhaps be less calm ", he confides at the microphone of Europe 1.

"But we didn't expect it to be even magnified compared to, for example, the months of September and October which traditionally are very busy months for us."

It is finally the sprinkler watered since the Beager company would also need to recruit staff.

She plans to double her workforce next year, but admits to facing the same challenges as her clients.