If the mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, was delighted that her city had been rather spared by the riots that followed the death of Nahel, damage is still to be deplored, especially in shops in the popular district of Wazemmes. More generally, in Hauts-de-France, numerous lootings and ransacking of shops are to be deplored. And faced with the exclusion clauses of insurers, some professionals will find themselves very helpless. The region must vote, Thursday, a device of assistance to the craftsmen and tradesmen victims of the riots.
In Lille, during a single evening, a dozen shops on rue Gambetta were looted by rioters. Similar events have taken place all over the region. In Creil, in the Oise, a shop had even seen its facade gutted with the help of a backhoe. “Some have insurance that covers riots, and others have the famous little asterisk that excludes riots and demonstrations,” explains Martine Aubry. “We are going to go around to see what we can do with the help of France insurers”, adds the elected official, specifying that it would not necessarily work every time.
Unique number and cash advance
And when the insurer proves inflexible, the region proposes to take over by supporting the businesses and artisans who are victims. A single telephone number (03.20.63.79.00) has been set up in partnership with many local economic players (CCI, Medef, CMA, etc.) to guide victims in their procedures and direct them to existing ones, such as cash advances available from certain banks.
With the “communities and banks which so wish”, the region will offer traders and craftsmen “a reimbursable advance” which will be “paid on presentation of the filing of a complaint, a declaration of loss with their insurance and the necessary quotes” . However, we still do not know the total amount of the envelope and the terms of reimbursement. By way of comparison, the Grand-Est region must vote, on Friday, aid of 5 million euros for VSEs affected by the riots without it being specified whether the beneficiaries should repay.