A supermarket closes its book shelves, illustration.

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Louise MERESSE / SIPA

  • With the confinement, businesses deemed "non-essential" had to lower the curtain.

  • These closures led to the anger of traders and a wave of indignation from many local elected officials.

  • After closing the cultural shelves of supermarkets out of "concern for fairness", the executive could announce other measures this Sunday.

It is a symbolic photo, very shared on social networks: In a supermarket, a shelf of books is closed by a red banner: "Sale of books and records prohibited.

In accordance with government measures in force.

The image illustrates the controversy in which the government has been plunged for several days.

With the implementation of containment, all businesses deemed "non-essential" had to lower the curtain.

This is the case with restaurants, bars, toy and clothing stores, or even bookstores, to the chagrin of their owners.

This photo is crazy.

pic.twitter.com/QGonXCa6Kz

- L'Indéprimeuse (@LIndeprimeuse) October 31, 2020

Faced with the pressure, the government decided on Friday that supermarkets should also close their cultural shelves, "for the sake of fairness".

But the same day, the federation of toy merchants announced the filing of a summary before the Council of State against the sale of toys in hypermarkets.

Entangled in the controversy, the executive also sees mounting a sling of local elected officials, who revolt against these closings of shops, already hard hit last spring.

The revolt of elected officials and traders

Mayors of small and medium-sized towns (Perpignan, Brive, Beaune, Valence, Colmar, etc.) have even already issued decrees authorizing the opening of non-food businesses, evoking a need for “commercial fairness”, like Gilles Platret.

“Shopping centers sell everything: toys in promotion, clothes, drugstore, household appliances… Even if they are compensated, the businesses will experience terrible times with these closures.

It is an unfair decision which will devitalize our city centers, ”denounces the LR mayor of Chalon-sur-Saône.

He also evokes a health argument: "The closure of small shops will concentrate all the customers in supermarkets, which on the contrary should be relieved".

A closed book section in a supermarket in Nice, at the end of October 2020. - Frederic DIDES / SIPA

In this territory, as in many others, the standoff is now turning into a legal battle, while many traders refuse to close their shops.

The prefecture of Saône-et-Loire thus denounced by press release an “illegal” municipal decree, because in contradiction with a government decree.

And now awaits the decision of the administrative court to cancel it.

The pressure has increased a little more on the government in recent hours.

Fifty mayors and presidents of large urban agglomerations asked on Saturday by mail to Jean Castex to "work quickly on a solution".

Paris PS mayor Anne Hidalgo also announced "a joint initiative", with other cities, "to authorize the reopening of independent bookstores", this Sunday in the

JDD

.

Is the government going to give up ballast?

The Association of Mayors of France is asking for a “re-examination of the concept of local trade”.

“There is a real rebellion among local elected officials because once again, we made big announcements without listening to the field, it creates tensions.

The government did not understand that it was better to play with the mayors than without them, ”sighs the UDI mayor of Sceaux Philippe Laurent, secretary general of the AMF.

“The ball is now in the government's court.

We hope that things will change in the coming hours, because otherwise the number of orders will multiply ”.

So far, the executive has stood firm.

Bruno Le Maire denounced on Sunday “this handful of irresponsible mayors who take orders contrary to decisions taken by the State”.

These elected officials “think they support traders.

In reality, they threaten the health of the French ”, criticized the Minister of the Economy on BFMTV.

The government recalled that traders are already benefiting from an easing compared to the previous confinement (order withdrawals, deliveries).

But to appease the anger, he could widen the closures of “non-essential” departments in supermarkets, toys or household appliances in particular.

Such restrictions would only shift the debate since they would benefit, again, the giants of online delivery, as the Medef recalled.

After meeting this Sunday with professional federations and associations of local traders, Jean Castex should decide these questions, this evening, at the JT of TF1.

Society

Containment: Medef will make proposals for the reopening of shops

Paris

Coronavirus: Anne Hidalgo campaigns for the reopening of independent bookstores

  • Confinement

  • Government

  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • Mayor

  • Emmanuel Macron