Restaurants in France have been serving customers in defiance of Covid restrictions – sometimes in secret – prompting an angry response from the government.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned restaurant owners they risked losing Covid-19 financial aid if they open in defiance of the pandemic shutdown.
Angry owners say their livelihoods have been in jeopardy since the closures were ordered on October 30. An initial deadline of January 20 passed with little prospect of a return to business as usual any time soon.
“We will see if I end up in custody or if I have a fine,” said Kathia Boucher, owner of La Boheme restaurant in Ligescourt, northern France, after receiving a visit from police. Arguing that restaurants are no more dangerous than shops, she opened her restaurant and had 30 place settings.
Stephane Turillon, a chef in Cusance, eastern France, made good on his threat to open Monday in an act of “civil disobedience” he hopes others will emulate.
“We want to start a discussion with the state, because you can’t fight this pandemic by closing everything down,” Mr Turillon said. He had welcomed several dozen patrons in tents set up near his restaurant, La Source Bleue.
“All I’m asking for is the right to work,” he said.
In Villeurbanne, near Lyon, a crowd of supporters cheered Philippe Vieira at his restaurant after he refrained from opening as planned to serve a protest meal.
He claims that restaurants are safer than supermarkets or workplaces.
“At work, some gather in offices to eat because they have difficulty finding suitable spaces and they do not necessarily respect barrier gestures, while here we will respect them,” Mr Vieira told Bfmtv.
Mr Le Maire acknowledged that “it’s extremely hard for restaurants, economically and in terms of morale”.
“But in no way does that justify not respecting the rules,” he told RTL radio.
On Saturday, police in Paris said they discovered 24 restaurants operating illegally, and warned businesses they would step up controls after reports of dozens of similar cases in recent weeks.
Le Parisien newspaper reported on Monday that a restaurant shut on Friday was serving judges who worked at the nearby appeals court on Ile de la Cite, opposite the Paris police headquarters.
Mr Le Maire said owners caught serving clients would have their Covid solidarity funds suspended for a month, “and if they do it again, they won’t get any more at all”.
Restaurants and other businesses forced to close during the health crisis can receive up to €10,000 ($12,000) a month, or compensation equal to 20 per cent of their revenue from 2019, capped at €200,000 per month.
But many owners say that is not enough to make up for lost sales as they struggle to maintain rent payments.
Last week, a restaurant owner in the Mediterranean city of Nice was detained for questioning after serving lunch to about 100 people.
Christophe Wilson’s protest garnered a wave of support on social media, with the hashtag #LiberezChristophe (Free Christophe) trending on Twitter as messages expressed anger at his treatment and the dire financial straits of restaurateurs.
The government closed restaurants to limit social gatherings that could accelerate the virus’s spread, hoping to avoid a third nationwide lockdown.
It has also ordered ski resorts to shut lifts, which sparked a protest Monday by about 100 seasonal workers who blocked a highway near Modane in the Alps.
“If I don’t work during the season, I can’t live,” lift operator Sophie Gregoire said. “I have a family, children, rent, a car – all the bills that everyone has.”
