The organization had to be done in a rush. Between Saturday evening, at the time of Edouard Philippe’s announcement, and Sunday morning, the owners of tobacco bars had to reorganize their business to be in order with the instructions of the government.
No access to counters
After consultation with other tobacconists in Issoudun, Alex, owner of the Sainte Catherine bar-tabac, opened its doors this Sunday morning to his customers. With a surprise for those who had not yet heard the news: access to the bar has been blocked until further notice. By tinkering a little. “We blocked off the counter and its surroundings with tables and chairs” Alex explains.
Same story in Châteauroux, where Philippe Simon, co-owner of the Castel, “set up a direction of circulation for customers, with a marking on the ground” and where the bar was _“barricade_“.
Most customers had heard the Prime Minister’s announcement the night before “but some regulars arrived to buy their pack of cigarettes and could not drink their traditional coffee” regrets Philippe Simon.
Big economic risks
The economic question greatly worries our two tobacconists. Philippe Simon is worried about the fact that he has not been able to offer PMU, a “big activity” for his business. Usually seven to work in his bar-tabac, there will be only two or three to provide service until the end of the crisis. Alex, for his part, believes that he will have to “adapter [m]hours “ so as not to lose money.
Despite the partial opening of their business, the two tobacconists believe that they will have to put some of their employees on partial unemployment while waiting for the epidemic to pass.
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