Christophe Wilson, January 27, 2021, in his illegally opened restaurant in Nice -

E. Martin / ANP / 20 Minutes

  • At noon on Wednesday, a restaurant in Nice defied the opening ban decided in the context of the fight against Covid-19.

  • An action denounced by the Union of trades and hospitality industries Nice Côte d'Azur.

“We cannot condone that”.

The illegal initiative of Christophe Wilson, the restaurant owner from Nice who opened his brasserie on Wednesday noon for two services, really does not pass for the Union des métiers et des industries de l'hôtellerie (UMIH) Nice Côte d'Azur.

Its vice-president Christophe Souques (pictured, inset) answered the

20

Minutes

questions

this Friday, just after the holding of a general meeting of this employers' organization.

An instruction has been issued in the prefecture to pronounce an administrative closure of Poppies, Christophe Wilson's brewery.

What is the position of the UMIH after this call for "civil disobedience"?

We can very well understand that there are desperate people at this time.

But we obviously cannot condone that.

All the more so in this context, where everything is mixed with the movement of "yellow vests" [among the customers present that day] and with a boss who hires staff in an irregular situation.

Christophe Wilson, whose image without a mask above his plates has been around social networks, explains to

Nice-Matin

that he "does not regret anything" ...

This image is necessarily very counterproductive compared to everything we are trying to put in place.

And while we spend our time and our energy trying to defend the steak of the profession.

We think he is someone with very poor support, bad advice and who must have lost his footing.

We are appealing.

The UMIH is there to welcome, listen to and advise him in order to help him regain awareness of normality.

What did other restaurateurs say who might be tempted to follow his call?

Let them come see us.

Let all those who encounter financial problems know that we have a number of solutions to offer them.

We are in constant contact with the prefecture, the Direccte [the regional directorate for enterprises, competition, consumption, work and employment] and other organizations.

We are still lucky to be in a country where we can dialogue.

No matter how hard I try to understand Christophe Wilson's approach, I can't.

What is the situation for establishments in Nice, the metropolis currently most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic?

Whether you're in the Creuse or on the Promenade des Anglais, the equation is the same: you can't open.

The difficulty that we encounter perhaps a little more in Nice than elsewhere is the cost of rents.

If you don't have a conciliatory donor, it can get complicated very quickly.

For the moment the impact is not yet fully visible, many businesses are under protection, in recovery.

We will really be able to count the deaths, we are counting on more than 30%, when we can reopen, not before April or May.

Nice

The restaurant owner who opened illegally is in custody for the employment of an illegal

Nice

A restaurateur illegally serves a hundred customers and advocates "civil disobedience"

  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • Interview

  • Nice

  • Restaurant