Source: AFP
Paris’ shops, restaurants, bars and clubs are facing an “unprecedented downturn in business and performance”, trade bodies said on Friday, partly blaming “heavy security measures” imposed ahead of the Olympics which start on July 26.
“Despite optimistic forecasts, activity has declined since June, with many professionals seeing their incomes fall by 30 percent compared to previous years,” a group of restaurant, hotel, retail and nightspot associations said in a joint statement. .
Their businesses are suffering from tourists avoiding the capital, bad weather, inflation, the tense political situation after President Emmanuel Macron called early elections and Olympic security measures, they said.
Combined, the headwinds produce “catastrophic economic consequences,” they said.
Unions urged authorities to communicate more clearly about security measures, saying they were unable to plan around them without information.
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One example was the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in western Paris, where restaurants “suffer access restrictions that have reduced crowds by 70 percent,” they said.
Elsewhere, security barriers blighting the capital’s otherwise picturesque streets are turning away potential customers, unions charge.
“Many small businesses are at risk of closing down permanently,” they said, calling on the government to set up compensation procedures.
“We insist that fair and speedy compensation is necessary to compensate for the suffering and losses suffered as a result of the Olympics,” the unions said.
Source: AFP
