Toulouse: on Place Saint-Pierre, to drink you have to sit down
Bars in St. Peter’s Square are preparing for the new health measures imposed by the government. Customers can no longer consume while standing.
There is a scent of resignation among professionals and among customers of the Place Saint-Pierre. For almost two years, bars and partygoers have been adapting to the health measures imposed by the authorities. The most recent, the ban on consuming “standing”, came into effect on Monday: “If it allows bars not to close, that’s already it”, explains Chloé Leblond 21, a regular at the bar La Panties color.
Right next door, at the famous Chez Tonton, famous for its evenings where we sing and dance with a certain proximity, we will have to adapt: “We just have a few chairs inside so that people can sit down ”explains one of the waiters. “We risk having to police, but we will not laugh with the rule,” he warns. A speech confirmed by Laurent Maffre, the communications manager of the Chez Tonton, La Couleur de la Culotte and Le Saint des Seins bars (which belong to the same owners): “The key word will be to ensure that the rule is respected to the letter”. For these establishments, the new measure also risks causing them to lose customers, the number of places being, in fact, limited: “We are going to have fewer people, therefore fewer numbers. But that’s how it is, we have no choice, ”adds the communications manager.
For others, the ban on consuming standing will not change habits: “Since the first confinement, we have been serving at the table. Customers can no longer order at the bar. For us, this new rule will not change much, ”says Magali Claeys, manager of the Basque Bar. Finally, most of the bartenders questioned also questioned the effectiveness of the measure: I do not see how this will prevent the spread of the virus ”slips a server.