A restaurant in Marseille -

Daniel Cole / AP / SIPA

The announcement had the effect of a bomb on Wednesday evening, and angered many Marseillais.

During his weekly address, Olivier Véran informed that the metropolis of Aix-Marseille, like Guadeloupe, was now placed in a state of "maximum alert" because of its epidemiological situation linked to the coronavirus.

The incidence rate exceeding the threshold of 250 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

As a result, the Minister of Health announced the total closure of bars and restaurants in the metropolis from Saturday and for at least two weeks.

The mayor of Marseille angry

This decision provoked strong reactions locally.

"I learn with astonishment and anger a decision for which the City of Marseille was not consulted," denounced the mayor of Marseille, Michèle Rubirola, on Twitter.

“Nothing in the health situation justifies this announcement.

I do not accept that the Marseillais are victims of political decisions that no one can understand.

Olivier Véran answered him in the evening, indicating that he had spoken with his first assistant.

The decisions announced this evening, of which I measure the impact for the people of Marseille, aim precisely to protect them while all health indicators are very degraded.

What I discussed this afternoon with your 1st deputy and the president @RenaudMuselier https://t.co/56Y7RiZELN

- Olivier Véran (@olivierveran) September 23, 2020

Same story on the side of President LR of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Renaud Muselier, who denounced a "quasi-re-containment".

"This collective punishment is extremely hard for the economy of our territories," he wrote in a statement.

In a rage, Bernard Marty, president of the Union of trades and hospitality industries of Bouches-du-Rhône, immediately assembled an extraordinary council in the evening.

“Nobody warned us!

I really no longer have any confidence in this government, he reacted hotly.

Do they realize that behind the restaurateurs, there are also the breeders, the suppliers ... it is a whole sector that they are killing!

The only thing I can tell you is that we are not going to die without a fight!

"

Society

Coronavirus: 13,000 new cases in 24 hours in France, the positivity rate on the rise

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