StoryA year after taking over the historic establishment in the center of the Breton city, the owner has vanished, leaving behind a store in debt and employees without resources.
For weeks now, slate has been on the Flambard counter, this café located a stone’s throw from the town hall of Lannion (Côtes-d’Armor). On the sign: “A pot is at your disposal to support the employees of the abandoned butcher’s shop. »After paying for their drinks, regulars slide the rest of their change mechanically into the piggy bank. In the Breton sub-prefecture, everyone knows the enigmatic history of the Boucherie du Miroir. This beige and burgundy storefront is located in the cobbled street that runs along the covered market, then down towards the quays.
This local institution opened in 1930 has been closed since the death of Eric Nouricier. This butcher, who took over the business at the end of 2020, is nowhere to be found. “The last time I saw him, he told me to be away for a few days to deal with papers in the South, testifies Aurore Thomas, employee of the store for twelve years. After several days without news, we started to worry. Despite his absence, we continued to open until the butcher’s union advised us to stop. If there was a problem, we were responsible. “ With Jordan Da Mota, her colleague, the thirty-something decided to pull the store’s blind on October 27, 2021. Especially since the employees understood that the disappearance of their manager should now be qualified as a leak.
In front of a cup of coffee, Aurore Thomas trembles her hands when she tells of her amazement by discovering the state of the accounts of this until then prosperous business – empty and overdraft of several thousand euros, for some. The bank had therefore not rejected the salary checks for September and October by mistake, as argued by the boss. The frequent calls from angry suppliers were not the work of cranky people. As for the many registered letters, they hid an accumulation of debts.
Since the closure, waves of questions have flooded the employees. Where has Eric Nouricier gone? What did he do with the cash flow of this shop with an annual turnover of 342,000 euros (for its last known financial year, in 2013)? Who really is this 57-year-old Hérault driving a Porsche Cayenne in the streets of Lannion? And, more urgently, what future for this company without a boss?
“Their wait is unbearable”
“Eric got us into his shameless mess. He knew our situations and yet knew that we were not rolling in gold ”, annoys Florian Lageat, companion of Aurore Thomas. Since September, the employees have been without resources. It is impossible to apply for another job or to claim unemployment as long as their work contracts at the Boucherie du Miroir continue. Parents of two children, Aurore Thomas and Florian Lageat live on allowances from the latter, a mason currently on sick leave following a broken wrist.
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