PARIS (AFP) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned restaurant owners Monday (Feb 1) they risked losing Covid-19 financial aid if they open in defiance of the pandemic shutdown, following protests and reports that some are secretly serving customers.
Angry owners say their livelihoods are at risk since the closures were ordered on Oct 30, with little prospect of a return to business as usual anytime soon.
Mr Stephane Turillon, a chef in Cusance, eastern France, made good on his threat to open on Monday in an act of "civil disobedience" that he hopes others will emulate.
"We want to start a discussion with the state, because you can't fight this pandemic by closing everything down," Mr Turillon told AFP as he welcomed several dozen patrons in tents set up near his restaurant, La Source Bleue. "All I'm asking for is the right to work," he said.