In the UK, the pandemic empties the City of London
Audio 02:39
A view of the nearly empty City of London near Bank Tube station on September 4, 2020. REUTERS / Toby Melville
By: Muriel Delcroix Follow
7 min
In London, the City is dragging its feet to return to the office.
With the end of the summer holidays and the reopening of schools, the British government said it expected a massive return to business districts deserted because of the new coronavirus pandemic.
But in vain, to the chagrin of traders and restaurateurs who are cutting jobs and worrying about their future survival.
The report of our correspondent in the City, the business district of London.
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Ghostly at the height of the epidemic, Bank station, in the heart of the City, remains strangely empty in this return and has not regained its ant-hill appearance.
In the surrounding streets the same atmosphere: at lunchtime, employees come to buy a sandwich but do not linger, leaving cafes and restaurants idle, like the manager of this Indian restaurant, on his doorstep: “
It's very quiet… We are offering a 10% reduction on our menu, but customers do not come.
In
the kitchen, they are usually six, but there are only three and wait ...
"
A little further on, the saleswoman of a stationery chain usually crowded, but now deserted, is also worried: “
Before, it was always very busy here, but customers no longer come.
People are working from home now and it gets worse every day, not good for business
!
"
At the headquarters of the Center for Economic and Commercial Research, Josie Dent, who monitors office occupancy rates on a day-to-day basis, says he has observed a resurgence of mobility among the millions of employees whose children have returned to school.
But unlike other European capitals, nearly half of them continue to shun their offices in London: “
London is a city which requires long and expensive journeys while in other capitals employees pay less and spend less time in transport.
We also found that people were just as or more productive at home than at the office because they were less distracted.
"
And it is true that the employees met in the City admit to having taken a liking to teleworking.
A young woman: “
It was good, yes, I really appreciated being able to work at home but I think it's good to find a balance between telework and the office because it is important to have colleagues around and to be able to motivate themselves.
"
His colleague: “
We didn't have this flexibility before, that has changed and I'm very much for it.
It is clear that there will perhaps be fewer people in the City in the future… Which would be a good thing to have a drink out of the office
!
"
But while employees appreciate this relative tranquility, traders - themselves - are very worried, especially as the end of the government's financial assistance program approaches.
While economists estimate the shortfall for local businesses between 180 and 260 million euros each month, many brands are reducing their workforce or even closing their stores.
And demands are becoming more and more insistent to extend this aid and avoid seeing the unemployment rate explode.
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