Deprived for six months of the pleasure of terraces, the French savor them from this Wednesday as a moment of grace.

And it's not the wind or the rain that will stop them.

If the customers are happy, so are the restaurant and bar managers.

"We're made to work, so we're happy to reopen," enthuses the manager of a Parisian brasserie.

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"I am as delivered, I savor", exclaims Catherine, come to drink a coffee on the terrace of a Parisian brasserie in the 15th arrondissement this Wednesday morning.

"The paper cups in the cold, it was very hard," she jokes, in a good mood.

"I'm exaggerating, I know there are worse, but it's true that it was still a little pleasure in life that we no longer had", adds the client, happy that "life resume ".

So happy that this Wednesday morning, she left home without her mask.

"All of a sudden, I said to myself 'oh, I don't have a mask'", she tells the microphone of Europe 1.

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The covered terraces were thus very busy this Wednesday morning, generally in compliance with the new gauges, namely 50% maximum fill rate.

And this despite the showers.

Anyway, it would have taken more than capricious weather to prevent Franck from coming for a coffee at the bistro.

"Here, there are people that we know well, coffee makers that we have known for a long time, that we have supported. Today, it's a bit of a renaissance," explains this client.

"Work is our life"

This air of normality even gave Roland, who has managed the Cambronne café for thirty years, the beginnings of a smile.

"We had a lot of cafes. There are a lot of people who want to come back, the phone has not stopped ringing," says the cafetier.

"We were made to work, so we are happy to reopen. We are not people who wait for the state to help us. Work is our life," he added.

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Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Wednesday, May 19

As the morning progressed, the cafes gave way to beers and glasses of wine, and croissants to Caesar salads and steak tartars. But for lunch, you will still have to be patient. On all the remaining tables in this 15th arrondissement brasserie, a small sign reads "Reserved".