- Justice has estimated that the Routioutiou does more trade and catering, than oyster farming.
- This decision questions the activity of several oyster farmers in the Arcachon basin, who have also turned to oyster tasting.
- The manager of Routioutiou is very worried about the profession, while the president of the regional committee wants to be reassuring and ensures that there is no problem.
A blow for Le Routioutiou, and a warning shot against the profession? The spouses Géraldine and Fabrice Vigier, managers of the famous oyster shack at the port of Larros, in Gujan-Mestras on the Arcachon basin, were sentenced Monday by the Bordeaux criminal court to 1,500 euros in damages to Urssaf , as well as a fine of 1,000 euros each, for “concealed work by concealment of activity. »Basically, for illegal trade.
What does justice criticize these two oyster farmers, who also offer oyster tasting in their hut? To be more traders and restaurateurs, than oyster farmers, because of their activity of tasting oysters and by-products.
"At no time did we depart from the prefectural decree"
All the oyster farmers in the Arcachon basin, who occupy the public maritime domain, are authorized to taste oysters, which come from their own production. A prefectoral decree of April 11, 2011, also grants them a derogation, authorizing them to accompany these oyster tastings of other very specific products: bread, butter, pâté, whelks, shrimp and white wine only. According to the regional shellfish farming committee Arcachon-Aquitaine, the oyster farming activity must however remain in majority compared to the rest.
The court found that this was not the case in Routioutiou, based for 2017 on figures of 198,000 euros related to the sale of oysters, and 317,000 euros for the rest.
Contacted this Tuesday by 20 Minutes , Géraldine Vigier says she is still "in shock" of this court decision, which she does not understand. “At no time did we deviate from the prefectural decree, since in reality it does not pose any financial quantum , there is nothing that says that we must make so much turnover. But necessarily that we make a little more figure in whelks-shrimp than in oysters: oysters come from our production, so we do not buy them, on the other hand I buy my whelks and my shrimps, which I am good forced to resell by making a little more margin. Finally, concerning this year 2017, the court did not rely on the right figures. "
"There is no desire to suppress this activity" assures the president of the sector
The Routioutiou is not the only oyster hut offering oyster tasting, far from it, since there are 86 in the Arcachon basin. Does this court decision threaten the entire profession? "Clearly yes", says Géraldine Vigier. “We wanted to make an example, and we are the first on the list. "There is no problem, says Thierry Lafon, president of the regional shellfish farming committee. There is no desire to reduce or eliminate this activity, quite the contrary. The consumer is requesting this service, oyster farming has adapted to it, and there is a good understanding of the phenomenon by the state services. As for restaurateurs [some of them denounce unfair competition], they are irritated by those who cross the yellow line, but that poses a problem for us too. "
For Thierry Lafon, “in this business, the famous tasting activity was taken to the extreme. This company [Le Routioutiou] has chosen to bet everything on this type of promotion, whereas for most companies, tasting is only a diversification. This case still points to a real problem, since we are faced with a regulatory imprecision which prevents us from measuring this notion of main activity. Consequently, the magistrate is left with an important delta of interpretation. "
Urssaf claims almost 400,000 euros in arrears
Considering that the activity of the Vigier spouses relates more to the social regime of trade and catering, the Urssaf is claiming from them almost 400,000 euros in arrears for the past few years. But the managers of Routioutiou maintain that their main activity remains oyster farming, and that they therefore fall under the MSA (Mutuelle sociale agricole) scheme. "We still make 40 tonnes of oysters a year," points Géraldine Vigier.
Claiming to have "remained in the nails", the two entrepreneurs indicated their intention to appeal the judgment rendered on Monday.
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- Bordeaux