VIDEO – Omicron and new restrictions empty bars and restaurants

A story that repeats itself over and over again. Already largely affected by the restrictions linked to the first epidemic waves, bars and restaurants have found themselves, in recent days, at the heart of the turmoil. The rapid expansion of the Omicron variant and the new health measures decided by the government are causing the attendance of these establishments to collapse.

The generalization of teleworking (a minimum of 3 days for activities that allow it), the ban on consuming while standing and the prospect of a future vaccination pass – not to mention the fears that the outbreak of contamination due to Omicron may arouse – have an impact particularly significant negative on the sector. “Normally there are around 250 people working in the area. Today you have to see 5 or 6 people a day, and not every day …”, testifies in the TF1 report at the head of this article Albert Aidan, from the L’Ami Georges brewery (Paris), whose clientele is mainly made up of employees and businessmen. “As it started, we will quickly be at -80% [de chiffre d’affaires, ndlr]“, he adds with annoyance. Faced with the coming weeks of uncertainties, the restaurateur is limiting his purchases and his reserves. According to his delivery man, all the restaurants in the area have reduced their orders in recent days. “I think it went down between 20 and 30%”, he assures TF1. “At the moment, the restaurants are working very, very little”, he emphasizes.

Some professionals are also confronted with contamination and contact cases. In the space of a few weeks, and as in all sectors of the economy, absenteeism has swelled. “I have a diver who is in contact. He therefore did not come to work this week”, confides wearily Franck Langrenne, owner of the restaurant Chez Clémentine. “I think I will get it back next Monday”, he hopes.

This fall in activity is generalized according to the catering and hotel trade unions. The establishments thus lost, on average, 30% of their turnover over the first three days of the week, affirms the GNI in the columns of the Figaro. The SNRTC is even more pessimistic and speaks of a decrease “between 30 and 50%”. This downward trend is “clean”, confirms the vice-president of the UMIH, Jean Terlon. However, it is “still too early” to comment on the exact extent of the damage, he confided to our colleagues.