The felling of the trees on avenue Janvier should make it possible to enlarge the terraces. – J. Gicquel / APEI / 20 Minutes
- Emmanuel Macron said last week that he intended to reopen restaurant terraces from mid-May.
- After about six months of closure, professionals interviewed by 20 Minutes remain cautious.
For restaurateurs, the time has come to slowly get back to work. While Emmanuel Macron confirmed last week the objective of a gradual reopening of the terraces from mid-May, professional organizations are trying to prepare. They had proposed on April 2 a reopening in three phases, under negotiation since. The first, running from May 15 to 28, with the opening of hotel terraces and dining rooms. The second, from May 29 to June 11, with the opening of dining rooms, cafes and bars, “within the limit of a gauge to be defined”. And the third, from June 12, with the return to a complete reopening with a normal reception capacity.
If the words of the president lend to optimism, the restaurateurs prefer to remain cautious, demanding precise announcements. “We will stop hoping for a reopening. There were no announcements at the regional level. I want a clear health protocol, with a precise date for recovery, and a list of the rules to be observed, ”announces Hervé Richard, manager of the First Café in Clichy-la-Garenne (Hauts-de-Seine). His restaurant is of course closed, but he tries to stand out by offering Afro-Caribbean dishes for delivery: “It’s a real chance to offer a specific type of dish. We are the only ones and fortunately, we always have customers who come. Delivery is our only means of survival. “
Reopen, but how?
On the Rennes side, Olivier Glaziou, manager of Terrasses d’Apigné, says he has been preparing for months. “We have the authorization to open in order to serve construction workers, so we organized as best we could. We put tables every two meters ”. Faced with the crisis, he remains positive. “We hope to be able to catch up with the turnover. We can sense a big demand from customers. They thank us for doing the takeaway but hope to be able to come back and party ”. In its bar-restaurant, the capacity is large. He therefore has no doubts that he will be able to follow the distancing obligations.
According to professionals, this long-awaited reopening would be accompanied by a reinforced sanitary protocol, and in particular a QR code to be flashed at the entrance to improve contact-tracing.
Prepare for what?
But while precise dates have not yet been set, some are wondering whether to anticipate the reopening. “It would not be very smart on our part to prepare when we do not know if we will really reopen”, judges Michaël Marrano, manager of a bar in Grenoble. Like Hervé Richard, he is waiting for details. “I have no interest in opening since there will be schedules,” says Michaël Marrano. If we close at 8 p.m., we might make 300 euros. And even “.