Containment: restaurateurs and cafe owners prepare an appeal against their imposed closure

Restaurateurs and cafe owners intend to challenge in court the government’s decision to close their establishments as part of the re-containment, announced Saturday Umih, the main union for the hotel trades.

« The national Umih (Union of Hospitality Industry Trades) has initiated an appeal against the decree of October 29, 2020 which closes « type N » restaurants and drinking establishments while authorizing collective catering », she indicated, justifying this appeal by « the breakdown of the principle of equality ».

She plans to “finalize” this appeal “before November 20.”

« The administrative closure of our restaurants and bars is based on health reasons, but no figures can justify that cases of contamination were more numerous in these establishments (…) than in collective catering », believes the union.

It underlines that its members “have applied, since their first reopening in June 2020, the same strict health protocols applied by collective catering” and that “at the request of the profession, these protocols were even reinforced in September 2020”.

« Why could collective restaurants which accommodate more people than our restaurants with 20, 30 seats carry out normal activity? » asked Umih, contacted by telephone by AFP, denouncing a « distortion of competition compared to another form of catering ».

Through this action, she hopes to put “pressure on the government” and show that “the sector will not give up to succeed in reopening”. The « goal is not to close collective catering », indicated the organization, recalling that according to a study carried out among its members and published this week, « two out of three establishments fear closing permanently by the end of the year due to this second confinement ».

source: medias24.com