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From January 3, in bars, cafes and restaurants, customers will have to eat seated. A new measure announced on Monday by the government and which, among some Parisian traders, exasperates.
“So here I am standing seated.” Installed on a stool at the Le Compas brasserie, in the center of Paris, Stéphane is fed up. He puts his foot on the ground, lifts his buttocks slightly from his seat: “Now I’m a bit on my feet.” Before resuming his mid-day coffee tasting and disappearing behind his newspaper, laughing, the fiftieth-year-old gives up his conclusion: “It’s ridiculous.”
And yet, from Monday, glasses of beer and cups of cappuccino should be seated. And not otherwise. Order of Jean Castex. The measure is part of the arsenal – sometimes baroque – announced Monday by the Prime Minister, at the end of a new health defense council dedicated to the fight against the fifth wave and the omicron variant.
On the other side of the Compas counter, Sylvain skillfully wipes the glasses one after the other. An air of muted jazz perfects the aged decor of the café and the waiter chases the replies, weary. What did he expect from the government? “Nothing.” What will this change in his business? “Nothing.” And, above all, what will it be used for? “To nothing.” “Whether customers are sitting or standing, do you really think this will make a difference to Covid? But hey, at least we stay open ”, do you observe …