INTERVIEW
Vanick Berberian, president of the Association of Rural Mayors of France (AMRF), was on Europe 1 Saturday to comment on the state's decision to create licenses 4 in the bistros. These licenses allow bistroters to sell alcohol. The state had not created for years and the licenses were then sold between professionals at gold prices. This decision, announced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Friday, is greeted by Vanick Berberian.
"You must not limit this vast plan that includes 173 proposals to the issue of licenses but you are right, it is important.It is well known that in a village, life is expressed through the places that are shared by People who do not necessarily live together, par excellence, the bistro or café of the village is a place where we meet, where we discuss, where we speak and so wanting to facilitate the reopening of bistros in small towns is really a very good idea, "he analyzes.
"I told Emmanuel Macron that we needed a big bistro development plan, everyone laughed"
He continues: "This is something that we proposed because we are aware that it can bring a village dynamic.When the President of the Republic visited my town in February, we were just working to install a new bistro. I told him that it was necessary to consider a big plan for the development of the bars .. Everyone laughed obviously but beyond the joke, it is really very useful ".
Licenses 4 are transmitted between professionals, often at exorbitant prices. And when a bistro lowers the curtain, it's often final. With few exceptions. Vanick Berberian explains: "The price of the licenses is exorbitant depending on the location.There is really a race to find a license, which is why, sorry to come back to my commune, we have been able to buy back the license of the previous owner who was retiring, the license was going to be lost, she absolutely wanted the license to stay in our village so she sold it to us for a very small price, and I thank her for it ".
"Why did the bistros close one after the other?"
Today, of the 32,000 French communes, 26,000 have no more cafes or bars. So is this licensing plan going to be enough? How to bring people back to the heart of deserted villages? For the president of the AMRF, the answer is multiple: "It is not only the question of the license.There was the health issue of the decrease of the consumption of alcohol, among others. the need to respond to the changing lifestyles of today People go to supermarkets fill their caddy with aperitifs and make aperitifs at home When I said we must look at all the things, I'm also thinking of Sacem (Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers) .To broadcast music in a bistro, you have to pay royalties which is perfectly legitimate, but the threshold is at from 1,000 inhabitants and it's very expensive, a municipality with 200 or 300 inhabitants can not afford the luxury of paying these fees. "
"These are the rare places where people meet"
Some opponents of this measure argue that in France, alcohol makes 40,000 deaths per year. Above all, do not the villages need the return of quality public services compared to the return of the bistros? Vanick Berberian returns the question: "Do not you think that the bistro has a function of public service? In a bistro, we do not have to drink alcohol, but I do not smoke and I do not drink alcohol, except for a drink from time to time, at the table, there is also a whole bunch of non-alcoholic drinks. "
He finally concludes: "We must get out of clichés like 'Brittany, it's alcoholic, the people of the countryside are so depressed that they spend their time drinking and melting their tears in the pinar!'. are old images, what interests us is the social relationship that can be formed from these places, which are the few places where people meet. "