Belgians flood cafes and shops in Dutch border towns: “Absurd” | Inland

Now that all catering companies in Belgium are closed due to the corona virus, many Belgians appear to be crossing the border this weekend to shop in the Netherlands, relax along the coast in a beach pavilion or go to a café or restaurant.

Mayor Jan Lonink van Terneuzen will propose emergency measures from his position as chairman of the Zeeland Security Region on Saturday because the situation threatens to get out of hand due to the massive influx of Belgians – including the tourist town of Sluis. It is not clear which measures are involved. In anticipation of any additional measures, entrepreneurs were again called upon to adhere to the announced maximum number of one hundred people per location.

“We have to contain this. Actually, every contact is one too many now, ”Lonink tells the Zeeland newspaper PZC. “It is exactly what I feared on Friday.” The Security Region will contact the Belgians. “What is not desirable in Belgium is not desirable here either. I get images of cafes, also from Terneuzen, where parties are just going on. ”

“It was immediately: boom fries!”

On Saturday, many more Belgians than usual could be found in Zeeland cafes, restaurants, shops and supermarkets. In addition to Sluis – where the invasion even led to parking problems – places such as Terneuzen, Goes, Middelburg and Hulst were also flooded with Belgians. “It is actually crazy for words. The Dutch cancel and the Belgians come, ”says Lonink.

Dutch entrepreneurs were overwhelmed by the Flemish violence. “We opened our door at 11:00 and it was immediately: boom fries,” Wesley de Haan of café Jopie in Sluis, applicable with Flemish terminology, tells Het Nieuwsblad. “The reaction to drink or eat something in the Netherlands is of course as understandable as it is absurd.”

“Eighty percent of the patronage was Belgian. That is unique.”

The partygoers defend themselves. “We come here often,” says the Belgian Stefaan Haerens in Sluis. “But now we have come to the Netherlands especially because things are open here. Corona? Let me enjoy my fresh Chouffe. Next week it may be the turn of the Netherlands and we have nowhere to go. We just want to have a nice day here. Because I’m afraid it will be over in the coming weeks. ”

Chairman Frank de Reu of the Zeeland department of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland and owner of Strandpaviljoen Puur in Groede previously expected that the invasion would turn out to be bad, but noted that this was an incorrect estimate. “Belgian groups canceled. But we did get a lot of Belgian couples and families here. ”

In the parking lot, the Belgian license plates were by far the majority. “And that was true for many catering companies along the Zeeland coastline. That did not lead to problems, but we also had to send people away because otherwise we would go over the permitted number of 100 people. We normally have 120 seats and now 90 so that we, with the staff there, neatly comply with the rules. The number of visitors peaked at lunchtime in particular. Eighty percent of the patronage was Belgian. That is unique. This was also the case with other colleagues along the art line. But there were no problems with them either. I feel that everything is well coordinated at the beach businesses in Zeeland. ”

Plastic gloves

As of this weekend, the male dog will have his staff work with plastic gloves to supplement the mandatory RIVM measures: “And we also regularly renew those gloves. That is received very positively by the guests. ”

Yet many Belgian guests do not understand why the catering industry in the Netherlands is still open. “But they will come here,” said an astonished De Reu. “If you then explain that it is a guideline from our government and we explain the rule of the maximum of one hundred visitors, soon there will be more understanding.”

Sunday morning De Reu and his staff are preparing for a possibly even busier spring day. “But maybe it’s not that bad. Because I understood that the Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs now advises not to go abroad anymore. But whether the Belgians will adhere to that? That is still the question of course. Normally it is busier here on Sunday than on Saturday, so we are going to see it. We are prepared in any case. ”

“The Netherlands, take action”

On social media there is a lot of anger about the “binge Belgians”. “Words fall short,” writes one. “Behave,” it sounds. “My parents live in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, and my dad barely survived pneumonia for 2 months … I find it terrifying,” writes someone.

Belgian European Member of Parliament Kris Peeters blames the Netherlands. He states that “our neighboring countries are not taking it seriously” and asks for “European coordination”.

–