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French restaurateur Stephane Turillon lead supporters in a symbolic protest march against COVID-19 restrictions on gastronomy in Cusance on Monday, after restarting his establishment’s kitchens and handing out free food to supporters.
Restaurant staff were seen distributing food to supporters of Turillon who had gathered outside the restaurant, singing the French national anthem and holding French flags.
Turillon backed away from his earlier plan of serving customers inside his restaurant after gendarmes arrived on the scene and following a warning earlier in the day by French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire that restaurant owners would face losing coronavirus aid funding, if they reopened in contravention of government orders.
“I have no freedom and it is not fair. I am lucky because I am given a indemnity of €10,000 ($12,076) each month to compensate my losses but many other people are going to go down,” Turillon said. “The artists too, like these ones who came from Montpellier to support me – they are going to die because they cannot work.”
On Wednesday, a restaurant owner in Nice faced police questioning after he reopened his business for sit-down dining at lunchtime in defiance of the government’s lockdown rules, which the administration says are intended to curb the spread of the virus, amid rising infections and hospitalisations.
France has registered more than 3.2 million cases of COVID-19 and 76,057 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and has put in place a tighter curfew and severely limited non-EU travel over concerns about the spread of new coronavirus variants.
SOT, Stephane Turillon, Restaurant owner and chef (French): “‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ the French motto that does not stand anymore today. I cannot work, I have no freedom and it is not fair. I am lucky because I am given a indemnity of €10,000 each month to compensate my losses but many other people are going to go down. Seasonal orders, artisans, coffee bars, cinemas and theatres are all going to go under. The artists too, like these ones who came from Montpellier to support me. They are going to die because they cannot work. They will all go under.”
SOT, Ruddy, Turillon’s brother (French): “I am here for my brother partly so I think it’s important to support this movement so we can show that we are able to reopen while respecting the sanitary measures. We do not understand why the big malls should be allowed to reopen, with people stuffed on top of each other yet we cannot.”
SOT, Stephane Turillon, Restaurant owner and chef (French): “It is not possible to crush the constitution. We have to take back our rights and change the politics. Politicians have to understand that the sovereignty lies on the people forever and ever; no matter what.”
SOT, Guy, Restaurant visitor (French): “Everybody is fed up. We do not risk more sitting in a restaurant, with all the measures that have been taken, no more that in the subway or in a supermarket; with all those caddies that go from hand to hand. Here everything is disinfected. Something needs to be done because we can’t go on like this”.
#Nice #France #Restaurant
Video ID: 20210201-029
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