The Kids Galaxy playground, in Saint-Bonnet-de-Mûre, near Lyon.

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Laurent Darnis

  • The day after Emmanuel Macron's speech, the managers of the indoor leisure parks saw any hope of reopening before January 15 fly away.

  • Asphyxiated by the months of closure linked to the health crisis, the managers of these small businesses are sounding the alarm, frightened at the idea of ​​seeing bankruptcies increasing in their sector.

  • "20 Minutes" interviewed three managers of indoor parks located in the Rhône department, who lost 80% of their turnover in 2020.

In its leisure park, where the laughter and cries of children usually resound, a deafening silence reigns.

Hit hard by the health crisis, the King Aventure in Dardilly, near Lyon, has been closed for many weeks, as have the 2,000 indoor leisure facilities (play park, bowling, escape-game, laser game) in the national territory. .

“Except that in the metropolis, we closed on October 10, during the curfew.

Whereas almost everywhere else, our colleagues were at least able to finish the All Saints holidays before closing to the public, ”sighs Cédric Bousquet, manager of this indoor leisure park for 8 years.

And the meager hope of being able to reopen before the end of the year flew away, Tuesday evening, during the speech by the President of the Republic, not planning a resumption for this type of establishment, as for the bars and restaurants, before January 20.

A catastrophic situation for the managers of these indoor parks, who have to meet colossal fixed charges.

“We all have very high rents and high monthly fees due to the size of our establishments.

Me, I have 17,000 euros of fixed charges, between the rent, the energy bills, the accounting costs… ”, details the manager of Dardilly, also representative in the Rhône of Space (Association of Indoor Leisure Spaces).

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Considerable costs, therefore, and little income.

Since March, these companies have in fact lost an average of 80% of their turnover, largely in the fall and winter.

“When we reopened this summer after the first confinement, attendance at our establishments was poor.

We have had a very sunny summer.

People, who were afraid of the virus, favored outdoor recreation, ”he says.

The curfew, then the second confinement, further aggravated the situation.

“The holidays of All Saints, Christmas and February are our big periods.

It's like closing a campsite in the summer.

For us, the economic repercussions of these six months of stoppage are colossal ”, continues this manager who has lost 200,000 euros in turnover since March.

Cédric Bousquet, manager of King Aventure and representative of Space, association of indoor leisure parks.

- C. Bousquet

Grégoire Ros, who took over the Kids Galaxy in Saint-Bonnet-de Mûre in September 2019, is not spared either.

“The time to launch the activity, the communication, after our takeover, we started to work well in January.

We were happy.

But the March containment has cut the rug out from under us, ”the manager

told 20 Minutes

.

For him too, the summer was not good and the fall, marked by the arrival of the second epidemic wave, was cut off from a large part of the activity.

To hold on, despite everything, he, like his colleagues, drew on his treasury and stopped earning himself since the spring.

Fixed costs not compensated by the aid

During the first confinement, aid of 1,500 euros per month was granted to him by the State.

Others, installed in the Lyon area, have benefited from an additional envelope of 1,000 euros from the Metropolis.

Since October, these companies now benefit from the Solidarity Fund of 10,000 euros per month.

"These aids are not adapted to our situation and our fixed costs", regrets the representative of Space, who hoped for a revaluation of the solidarity fund.

Hopes showered again by Emmanuel Macron.

So good that at Givors, the manager of Pass Partoo is afraid of not recovering from the crisis.

After eight years of investing and "a lot of work" in her playground, she recently had to take a part-time accountant to pay the rent on her house.

“I have 15,000 euros in fixed charges.

The 10,000 euros from the solidarity fund are not enough.

My cash flow has melted.

I do not see how I will manage to hold on, regrets Régine Agasse, who manages the structure alone, with two children to support.

The situation is critical.

I'm definitely considering closing.

I must be able to support my children ”.

Cases like this one, Space fears to see multiply in the coming months.

Especially since the recovery remains very uncertain.

“We are told on January 20 if the health situation has improved.

But I don't feel it.

Everyone is going to party on December 31st.

It will be a massacre at the beginning of the year and in February, we reconfine, ”worries Grégoire Ros, who is holding on today thanks to the financial support of his parents.

Because his financial situation is also alarming.

And his little understanding owner.

“I asked for a drop in my rents, explaining that I couldn't pay.

She sent me the bailiffs, ”adds this manager, determined despite everything to“ save his business ”.

An online petition

So that the indoor leisure sector, which represents 12,000 employees in France, can resist, Space asks the State to top up the solidarity fund with an additional 7,000 euros over ten months.

“The first quarter of 2021 will be just as bad for us.

With the obligatory masks for 6-year-olds and the virus that will always be there, attendance may not be good even if we reopen.

If the help we are given is up to our costs, we will be able to get by, ”adds Cédric Bousquet, anxious that the cry of alarm from small parks will finally be heard.

Until now, compared to large parks, like Disneyland, Puy du Fou, or Parc Astérix, managers of small businesses have the feeling of being "the big ones forgotten".

“We never talk about us.

The politicians do not know us, how do you expect them to defend us properly, ”laments Régine Agasse.

To gain visibility, these companies have launched a petition, signed to date by nearly 11,000 people.

An encouraging sign for these leisure specialists who want to see it as a sign of support from the families who usually frequent their places to have fun and amuse their children.

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