The historic center has bowed to confinement … with a few exceptions, such as the rue gourmande du Greffe, the small market hall in Place Nationale or the tiny market on the esplanade. Overview, yesterday.
“Stay home.” These words hammered out by the authorities since confinement was introduced ten days ago to wage the war against the coronavirus, have they been understood by the Montalbanais.
Yesterday morning, we then scoured the small streets of Montauban, to observe the historic heart at the time of confinement. A ghost town? Not totally … Story.
10 hours, in the rue de la République. Very few open shops. “It’s hard. We’re not used to it. But we adapt, we have no choice anyway,” launches this septuagenarian who is entering the Monop at a good pace. The store manager, Simon Garcia is not unhappy. “We adapted. We are open every day from 8:30 am to 8 pm and on Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm. I simply stopped the deliveries, because the delivery man exercised his right of withdrawal. works with gloves, masks and gel. The customers are less panicked now than during the first days of confinement. It was madness. In three days, we achieved the turnover of a week “, specifies the director. “You can reward employees because they are courageous,” a client tells him, exiting. “Yes! They will have a bonus of € 1,000 each,” Simon sends him back.
10 h 30, in rue du Greffe. Change of atmosphere in the small street where several food shops thrive and which is popular with bon vivant. Admittedly, there is not the usual effervescence, but …. A butcher has just enriched the offer of the street this week. At the delicatessen which had been closed since March 17, Harold decided to put the table back on this week. “I open in the morning from 9:30 to 12:30. I told myself that people, after having refueled in the supermarkets, would now want to have fun and taste, at home, products of a high standard. deli.” In partnership with a local market gardener, the grocer should even launch crates of fruit and vegetables to take away next week.
Distancing requires, the cheese dairy “Affine bouche” accepts only one customer at a time in the store. The business is only open in the morning, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm Ditto for Serrasol, next door. In the cellar, Nolan is “there to please the customers. Of course, the customer cannot consume his wine or his beer on the spot, but he takes away the bottles. After each visit, the credit card terminal is cleaned, the counter … We are very careful. “
11 am, halls of the Place Nationale. Welcome to the belly of the historic heart of Montauban. Four out of five shops are open: cheese maker, butcher, baker and greengrocer. “I only come here at the moment. There is everything to eat”, rejoices Dany who takes his place in the butcher’s queue.
11:30 a.m., cathedral square. Like all banks, the People’s Bank is open. The parking lot work is of course stopped. Only the small Bulgarian grocery store is open. “I see two clients a day” Petya laments.
11 h 45, place des Fontaines. The Saint-Louis hardware store has not lowered the curtain. “We sell basic necessities: batteries, light bulbs, gas bottles, soap and lots of disinfectants.” Above all, Patrick Chauchefoin gives a little morale to the whole neighborhood. “I have the impression that it reassures people, especially the elderly, to see that the business is open. Otherwise, we would have a desert.”
12 noon, Allée de l’Empereur. A queue has formed in front of the Layette pharmacy, the only shop in the aisles open with the other pharmacy on Place Foch, safety distances are respected …
12 h 15, Faubourg Lacapelle. At the Pipe d’Or newsagent, a mother comes to buy the newspaper. “I remain extremely, t cautious. The newspaper is exceptional. My husband takes care of the races.”
–
