For François Ridel, 38, who took over the family business six years ago, the situation is unprecedented.

Usually, the CVs of young students pile up on his bar before the summer season.

But this year, he could only count on his circle of friends and his network to run his business... in vain.

"During the Ascension, we couldn't open the upper room which has 30 covers. There were people, however, but we had to refuse because we didn't have enough servers", says the manager of this creperie on the main street of Mont.

"It's a huge shortfall," said Mr. Ridel, who figures his loss of turnover at 50% compared to 2019.

This child from the Mont admits that he does not understand his difficulties in recruiting in his establishment, which is closed in the evenings, on Sundays and Mondays, a calmer pace than in other restaurants.

A street full of tourists in the center of Mont Saint-Michel, July 22, 2021 Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP / Archives

“Catering is no longer suitable for young people,” he says.

"Once, I had one, he wanted a permanent contract, so I gave him a permanent contract, but he left after two months without explanation. The young people want to earn 3,000 euros and have their weekends, but it's not is not possible in catering!"

- "A bit of a hassle" -

The intense hours without a free weekend, "it's true that it's a bit of a hassle", admits Océane Bouffort, 19, who works at the Mercure hotel as a chambermaid.

But this seasonal worker has no other choice to pay for her language studies in Caen.

Among her friends, only one also works in the hotel industry.

"The others work in shops, where the constraints are less," she explains.

Nathalie Bazire, from the CGT Manche, is not surprised by this lack of manpower: "we cannot ask young people to work 12 hours a day with a salary close to the minimum wage!"

In addition to the hardship of the hotel and restaurant professions, the trade unionist also deplores the lack of accessibility of this exceptional tourist site, one of the most visited in France and classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To work there, "you need a car and then take a shuttle", she points out, pleading for the creation of housing for seasonal workers on the Mont, which has only about thirty inhabitants year-round and a sixty shops.

Walkers on the road leading to Mont-Saint-Michel, May 7, 2018 CHARLY TRIBALLEAU AFP / Archives

The constraints that hinder recruitment, the director of the hotel and catering group Les Portes du Mont-Saint-Michel, Gilles Gohier, is well aware.

He has therefore implemented a series of measures to try to overcome the lack of manpower, which he estimates at 20%.

A co-optation bonus of 300 euros is paid to employees who recommend a person for hiring, salaries have been increased by 10%, but, above all, "we hire people without qualifications and we train them", underlines t -he.

"It never would have happened 3 or 4 years ago."

"It's a national problem", relativizes however the director of the group. "But it is all the more glaring on a tourist site whose businesses must be open seven days a week", affirms Mr. Gohier who had to close two restaurants this year out of the four he manages, due to a lack of manpower.

© 2022 AFP