Toulouse. Ramier Restaurants (Hugo C)
Toulouse. Restos du Ramier: “It will take
3 months before reopening”
On the northern shores of the Ile du Ramier, the ground is muddy and the waste washed away by the waters remains stuck in the vegetation. Restaurants in the flooded area are bearing the brunt of the flood that hit the Pink City a week ago. The “Rowing Club” and “Nautical Emulation”, as well as its sports club, did not expect such a violent rise in water, which submerged their establishments “up to more than a meter.”
Yesterday, Juliette Pinon, rowing instructor from the nautical emulsion club, was in front of the shed where sports equipment is stored. Inside, the ground was not concrete and turned into muddy ground. “We had to get everything out, but our brand new locker rooms were not spared, everything was damaged. Estimates predicted 50 cm of flooding, in reality the water rose more than a meter in some places, we We weren’t prepared for that”, regrets the Toulousaine. One of the two managers of the “Rowing Club”, Félix Metz, in turn says in a bitter tone, that the whole restaurant is devastated.
From the terrace to the bar, there is everything to redo. A difficult event to overcome but which can hit this area at any time. “We have no estimate of the cost of the damage yet but there is at least 500,000 euros,” says the manager. Not to mention the operating loss over the two to three months of work and cleaning, and the purchase of all the equipment inside and outside the establishment. And the Covid does not make it easy with the delays to be extended to receive the materials.
“We thought we were 100% covered by insurance but in reality we are not sure yet”, worries Félix Metz.
For submerged establishments to be compensated, the flood must be declared a natural disaster by the Ministry of the Interior, which is not yet the case. Juliette testifies that “the Nautical Emulation restaurant brought in a company which removed two large containers of mud which had been abandoned in front of the facade of the establishment”. The town hall which lent these lands did not come to help clean up the premises according to Juliette. “I even asked them but they refused to come,” laments the instructor.