Because of the Covid, the winter sales have known a very poor start, down almost 30% compared to before the crisis. Professionals are therefore calling for the extension of state aid to all businesses.
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“Restaurants are suffering but they are not alone, it will be necessary to extend aid to almost all of the trade”, declared on franceinfo Francis Palombi, president of the Confederation of traders of France (CDF). The winter sales started almost a week ago and are off to a very bad start and a sharp decline compared to 2019. He calls the “government to take concerns into account” traders and asking for help.
franceinfo: How did the sales start?
Francis Palombi: We were already at half mast in terms of turnover and purchasing power since the beginning of the year so the sales are not euphoric. Beyond purchasing power, on the anxiety-provoking side of the period, there is telework. There are far fewer people going to work and this affects turnover.
What is the situation ?
I wrote a letter to Bruno Le Maire and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne to alert them to the very difficult situation of traders. It’s not just hotels, restaurants and bars, there are all the others as well. You can imagine the shoes, the lingerie, all those players in the trade who are suffering. They are beginning to receive spring purchases and they are struggling to cope with fall-winter purchases. We can’t continue with private sales all the time, black Fridays.
What do you wish ?
The sectors which are the least affected and which continue to work almost normally are in the food industry. The Prime Minister spoke well for restaurateurs, we must help them, they are suffering a lot but they are not the only ones to suffer. The aid will have to be extended to other businesses, almost to all of the business because we have not come out of the inn, of the crisis and we are still talking a lot about health. I call on the government to take our concerns and demands into account.