“Grit our teeth”, but until when? Will it be possible for bars and restaurants not to reopen before Christmas, or even not before January 15th? ” They will have prospects at the beginning of December “, Declared this Tuesday morning on” France 2 Government spokesman Gabriel Attal. ” For the moment there is no fixed schedule “, He also assured, referring to the last statements of Jean Castex. “The Prime Minister was clear in his press conference [la semaine dernière, ndlr] on the fact that what was planned as a possible reopening on December 1, these are businesses that are not cafes, restaurants, bars, nightclubs (…) Just as at the time of the deconfinement of last spring they had reopened more late. Why ? Because we know that these are places where the virus is transmitted more. ” And the spokesperson to add: ” We are working there on the relaxations and then on the deconfinement. (…) They are worried and want to have prospects. We will give them some in the coming weeks. “
“If the restaurants remain closed until the end of the year, it will be dramatic”
What will the government ultimately decide? It is therefore too early to tell. But according to information published Monday by “Le Point”, in order to fight against the spread of the coronavirus in France, restaurants, brasseries, bars and cafes should indeed not reopen for the end of year celebrations. And according to a source close to the file cited by the magazine, the date of January 15, or even that of February 1, 2021 would be considered for their reopening. Another very hard blow for professionals in the sector already largely impacted by the closures imposed by the health crisis.
Castex to set outlook next week
According to corroborating sources contacted on Monday by France-Info, the date of January 15, 2021, which has yet to be confirmed, would be mentioned in Bercy. Asked by “France Télévisions”, Matignon confirms the difficulties of reopening before the Christmas holidays – which begin on Saturday, December 19 – but does not comment beyond. Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to speak on this subject next week.Confinement: restaurateurs and cafetiers are preparing an appeal against their closure
France-Info recalls that it must also on this occasion discuss the additional financial aid measures envisaged to support a very fragile sector. According to the same source, this very sensitive subject is the subject of almost daily discussions with representatives of the sector, the ministries and Matignon.
Restaurateurs and cafetiers also intend to challenge before the Council of State the government’s decision to close their establishments as part of the reconfinement, we learned on Saturday from Umih, the main trade union of the hotel industry, and its lawyers. “The national Umih (Union des professions des industries de l’hôtellerie) has appealed against the decree of October 29, 2020 which closes restaurants and drinking establishments in” type N “While authorizing collective catering”, she said, justifying this appeal by “Breaking the principle of equality”. She plans to ” finalize “ this remedy “Before November 20”.
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“True torture”
“The President of the Republic and the Prime Minister will have to quickly reconnect with their country and their territories”, reacted Monday, November 16 on France-Info Thierry Grégoire, president of the Union des professions des industries de l’hôtellerie (Umih) Seasonal after being informed of the possibility of a reopening on January 15.
Denouncing “A policy of small steps”, with dates “Continuously pushed back”, Thierry Grégoire spoke of the “real torture” of a profession living in ” the most complete uncertainty “ after “Nine months of intense sacrifices in our sector of activity, closures, reopenings, sanitary protocols, curfews in October and then re-containment”.
