Demonstrations by traders and independents on the eve of Macron's announcements

Thousands of traders and independents gathered on Monday in several large cities in France to alert on the situation of their establishments, closed because deemed non-essential, on the eve of an intervention by Emmanuel Macron.

>> LIVE -

 Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Monday 23 November

In

, more than a thousand people marched between Place Bellecour and Place des Terreaux in a festive atmosphere, to the sound of music from a DJ.

At the call of several organizations such as the UMIH (Union des Métiers de l'Industrie Hôtelière), the FNH (National Clothing Federation) or even Les Toques blancs, an association of Lyon restaurateurs, the inter-professional movement was grouped around from the common slogan: "Let us work!"

For Anne Delaigle, representative of the collective "In the name of the independents", "of inconsistencies in nonsense, the government has managed to make us speak with one voice".

"Erased" traders

In

, 800 demonstrators dressed in black came from all over Isère and even from Savoie, including many restaurateurs.

Two-thirds of them dropped to one knee to symbolize the proportion of establishments fearing for their survival following this second confinement.

"A disaster", underlined Danièle Chavant, president of the UMIH 38 who had called for the demonstration.

"Restaurateurs, hoteliers, cafes, nightclubs, caterers and seasonal workers, we are erased from the economic landscape".

CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS

> Coronavirus: what schedule for vaccination in France?

> These three facets of the coronavirus that you may not have heard of

> Covid: should we be concerned if the headaches persist after recovery?

> When are we in contact?

And other questions that we ask ourselves every day

> Coronavirus: the 5 mistakes not to make with your mask

While the President of the Republic must detail Tuesday evening the relaxation of the health protocol and a reopening under conditions of certain businesses, Jean-Sébastien Veilleux, president of the FNH for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, believes that his "sector can not work if bars and restaurants are not open, in half-dead cities, and if economic activity does not generally recover ".

"Avoid a third confinement"

Frozen in black outfits, between 100 and 150 traders, craftsmen and intermittents of the show chanted in chorus "all essential", before collapsing to the ground, in a simulacrum of death, on the place of the Grand theater in

.

Among them, barbers, second-hand dealers, tattooists, event professionals, nightclub bosses, the "faces of the suffering professions", according to Élise Martimort, designer of wedding dresses and one of the organizers of this "flashmob" ".

From the presidential announcements, she is not waiting for "a dressing solution but real solutions and a spreading of responsibilities. We especially want to avoid a third confinement. Never again!"

The hardest ?

"Uncertainty"

In

, some 200 small traders, restaurateurs, hoteliers and artists gathered in front of the Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture to shout their "fear of dying".

For Thierry Galeazzi, UMIH representative for the village of Saint-Lary-Soulan, renowned for its ski resort, the most difficult thing is "to remain in uncertainty, especially since (the) turnover for the winter season conditions "the rest of the year.

Same images of demonstrators in black in

where 150 to 200 professionals, according to the organizers, gathered in front of the prefecture of Finistère, under the slogan "Close kills".

Red signs also read: "Who can imagine Christmas and New Years without bars, restaurants and nightclubs?"