End of service at 9 p.m.
In the aftermath of President Emmanuel Macron's announcements, restaurateurs in Ile-de-France and eight other metropolises are grimacing on Thursday, October 15.
From Saturday, they will have to lower the curtain earlier to respect the curfew decreed to prevent any nighttime gathering from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
And this for at least four weeks.
"In Paris, we do not eat at chicken time!", Denounces Franck Delvau, president of the Union of trades and industries of the hotel industry (UMIH Île-de-France), contacted by France 24.
For hotel and restaurant professionals, who have already paid a heavy price since the start of the health crisis, this is the coup de grace.
Closed for seven weeks during confinement, their establishments then had to adapt to the various measures put in place to slow the spread of Covid-19, to the detriment of their turnover.
While nightclubs have not been able to reopen and bars had to close again on October 6, restaurant owners see this curfew as a disguised way of forcing them to "re-close".
"At least the young people, when they are with us, there is a protocol"
"For us, it is punitive since it is a disguised closure measure and we are fed up with being the government's adjustment variable", protests Franck Delvau, while compliance with the health protocol has been praised by the Head of State.
"At the same time he tells us 'the restaurateurs, you have made a lot of efforts, you respect the sanitary protocol which is very strict at home', and besides that, we are slapped on the fingers by establishing a curfew ".
In his speech, Thursday, October 15, the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, detailed the modalities of application of the curfew, justifying the closure of restaurants, bars, cinemas and theaters by the need to "limit risky behavior".
To relieve our caregivers and reduce the number of patients with # COVID19, the only real possible strategy is to curb the epidemic by strictly respecting barrier gestures and reducing contacts and social interactions.
- Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) October 15, 2020
"The President of the Republic said that the clusters were formed mainly in the private sphere", reacts Franck Delvau, who believes that alternative measures could have been taken.
"There is only to close the establishments which do not respect the sanitary protocol", he says, before evoking the clandestine private parties.
Indeed, while the bars have been closed for more than a week, another phenomenon has emerged: that of parties organized clandestinely in apartments, arousing the concern of the Paris police headquarters.
"Of course, it's not easy to be 20 years old in 2020," concedes Frank Delvau, using the expression used by Emmanuel Macron the day before.
"But the evenings will continue: they will arrive at 9 p.m. and leave at 6 a.m., and the Covid will continue to develop in those evenings," he continues.
He adds that it would have been better to accentuate the controls of these clandestine parties, often organized via social networks, which constitute real epidemic centers.
"At least the young people, when they are with us, there is a protocol": physical distancing, a maximum of six people at the table, wearing a mask, providing hydroalcoholic gel and a reminder book, already compulsory since the end of September .
"There is no such thing as arriving at 7 pm in a restaurant"
As of Saturday, at 12:01 am, restaurateurs will therefore have to comply with the new decree, the application of which today raises many questions.
"For the moment, it is still unclear", laments the president of the UMIH Île-de-France.
"Can customers leave the restaurant at 9 p.m.? Do they have to be home by 9 p.m. [yes, according to the statements of the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, Editor's note] Can a delivery person leave the restaurant at 9 p.m. with a dish to be delivered? "asks Franck Delvau, who specifies that professionals in the sector should have a meeting at the headquarters of the prefecture of Paris police for further details on how to apply the decree.
Anyway, this measure is not viable for establishments whose evenings and weekends constitute "the two most important services of the week", he insists.
"There is no such thing as arriving at 7 p.m. in a restaurant. At this time, in Paris, the restaurants are empty!"
A finding that concerns bistronomic establishments, but also starred restaurants which, according to Franck Delvau, may simply not open.
>> To read also:
Large Parisian hotels are desperately seeking clients
"A lot of things haven't been done"
"I noted the commitment of the President of the Republic for an objective of zero bankruptcy in our profession, notes Franck Delvau, but we will have to put in place strong measures, and much more than partial unemployment".
If the president of the UMIH recognizes that the device is very important for the teams, it specifies all the same that partial unemployment does not solve everything.
"A lot of things have not been done," he continues, referring to the aid already promised in the past.
"We are asking for exemption from employer charges for the duration of the curfew, but also a moratorium on rents," insists France Delvau, regretting that the situation has still not been resolved on this point.
"How do we pay our rent if we don't work at night? It's not possible."
In addition, professionals in the sector are asking for an operating loss fund.
"Bruno Le Maire (the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, Editor's note) was committed to it and never went back on it. The government must work with insurers" on this subject, continues the president of the UMIH, while the lawsuits are multiplying before the commercial courts for refusal to compensate the operating losses of restaurateurs.
"Otherwise, he will not keep his commitment to 'zero bankruptcy', and it will be 30% bankruptcy, at least, in our profession."
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR