On June 27, 2023, Nahel, 17, was fatally shot by a police officer during a roadside check in Nanterre.
What follows riots and robberies in 66 city departments and 516 municipalities in the period from June 27 to July 7: “Attacks on public and private property and attacks on internal security forces and elected officials”*.
Attacks that can even go as far as assassination attempts (as at the home of the mayor of Haÿ-les-Roses, in Val-de-Marne).
During this period, 58,297 criminal acts are recorded. Among the victims, tradesmen vandalized, stolen, shocked.
CMAs at work
Faced with these dramatic events, in every Chamber of Commerce (HOK) “a dedicated advisor it directs the craftsman towards the steps to be taken and possible help,” explains the CMA Pays de la Loire.
Among the latter, postponement – or even cancellation – tax and social benefits, exceptional financial aid can be activated via Urssaf, downward modulation of the income tax ratelocal/regional financial support…
THE CMA France disaster fund a hundred companies (limited to €1,500).
Noeline Rasoamandrarywhich produces vanilla extract in Angers (Vanilla Bridge), thus managed to recover the amount of cash that disappeared from her cash register on the night of June 30 to July 1 (600 euros).
The manager objected to a end of non-acceptance by his insurance : “They told me they didn’t have proof, that the tickets weren’t enough.”
There solidarity among entrepreneurs She was there. “When I announced what happened to me on my professional network, several organizations offered me offices…” she continues, grateful.
But there were also disappointments. The bank of chocolatier Patrick Vriet, who lost everything, would hear nothing of it reimbursement of his PGE (loan with state guarantee) in progress. In desperation, he contacted his deputy, who undertook to defend his case in high places.
Chaos and Shockwaves: The Testimony of Patrick Vriet
On the night of June 29-30, 2023, 260 people flock to rue Dorée, an artery in the city center Montargis, break all the windows, rob shops and set fires. “The pharmacy, the cobbler and our Chocothèque burned down. We would have thought we were in a state of war,” says Patrick Vriet, still in shock. “I saw the three upper floors collapsing one by one, and then the facade…”
The chocolate shop, which existed for 12 years, was today undermined by uncertainty. “Unfortunately I did not no monetary loss in my contract (market value of intangible elements of the fund, editor’s note) i the operational loss guarantee is void if i don’t reopen. The insurance on my account reimburses only the packaging (a three-year supply worth €18,000 disappeared in the smoke) as well as the layout (windows, air conditioning, etc.), with 50% less because they are talking to me that it is dilapidated (the restaurant was renovated 5 years ago). In July, I had to fire the saleswoman (€7,500); I currently have a Covid/PGE loan (€960 per month, €30,000 still to pay).”
The SARL of 3 partners counts on its second company located in Gien. “We do 45% of our turnover at Christmas; we stick together. How do I get back on my feet with all this debt?”
“Watch” your back
Sophie Vinatier, insurance specialist in Hauts-de-Seinereminds that the “riot” event is included under multi-peril fire insurance for tradesmen/tradesmen. There warranty against theft they can also be mobilized, cumulatively. Then two franchises will be applied, unless the contract stipulates that only the largest one is applied.”
As for the operational loss, “it is guaranteed after the risk of “mess” if the insured has subscribed to it under its own special conditions”.
The state has shaken up the insurers to encourage them to benevolent, but the expert notes somewhat ironically that they “were happy to pay deposits so that their policyholders could resume work quickly… and therefore limit their operational loss“.
In the absence of a guarantee, the artisan-merchant can theoretically file a recourse against the state, “but, without assistance, it is unlikely to succeed by agreement”; to wear his legal action will be done “at his expense”…
The insurer does not give gifts. Sophie Vinatier urges craftsmen to carefully check their risks in the special and general conditions of their contracts. The premium is actually determined according to specific obligations (degree of protection, etc.).
“If these obligations/representations are not observed or respected, the insurer will apply a proportional reduction in compensation to the quantified damage.”
Also pay attention to property damage. “The insurer will seek justification from its insured tenant for work performed before the disaster to know whether it is his property or if it is the responsibility of the owner’s insurance. On the other hand, work performed by the tenant may immediately become the property of the owner under lease access clausewhich can be very detrimental (the owner will have work to do and will not necessarily be in a hurry).”
Also, take a good look possible limitation of certain guarantees, “a special “cash in the drawer” guarantee”. Finally, note that “the ‘disorder’ deduction is greater than the fire deduction”.
“They shouldn’t have won”: the testimony of Julien Tuffery
Atelier Tuffery boutique is located in a historic building in Montpellier, Comedy Square; a place that emphasizes knowledge and experience the oldest brand of jeans produced in France (32 people). On the night of June 30 to July 1, around midnight, an angry human wave destroyed everything in front of them and ravaged the place. Abstract: between €40 and €45,000 in losses. “At midnight we were broke; at one o’clock we started working to be able to reopen, which we did at 9 o’clock. It united us like never before,” recalls Julien Tuffery, who took over the family business in 2016 ( 4th generation).
Driven by a strong need to express himself, he published the next day open letter to rioters (more than 850,000 views). “It was spontaneous. The society was divided and I wanted to say that these 40 brainless people who hurt us are not the representatives of France, that they should not win and that we did not fall into hatred.” The scar is still there, “but pretty well closed,” he healed with the support he received. At the end of September 2023, the company’s turnover is +17% (3.8 million euros without tax). “This event did not disrupt our good momentum of progress.”
And tomorrow, better armed?
The scale and severity of the attack (places of justice, public buildings, businesses, etc.) requiredthe intervention of the Minister of Justice through two circulars (June 30 and July 5). They concerned:
- THE judicial treatment of violence (organizational issues for greater efficiency related to a “firm, systematic and rapid” criminal response),
- as well as treatment of criminal offenses committed by minors and the conditions under which their parents are held responsible.
They were followed by facts. That’s how it was 90% removal (statements immediately after police arrest), “including 60% of those that gave rise to the immediate occurrence”, the Office tells us.
More than 60% of adults convicted were in fixed prison sentence (with an average duration of 8.9 months). Many procedures and investigations are still ongoing…
On their side, the craftsmen are now organized ; “We can put up wooden fences in front of the shop in 15 minutes”, illustrates Julien Tuffery (Atelier Tuffery). By discovering the network, Noeline Rasoamandrary also found a “family”: “It encouraged me to want to get involved in the exchange of experience between artisans, to train myself. ..”
The ordeal we went through was nourishing vision of local entrepreneurship from Julien Tuffery :
“Craftsmanship must include uncertainty in its economic construction; this leads to thinking about the distribution of our knowledge and experience: we want to be a destination for trade, not a place of passage (development around our factory)” .
For him, the future – ambitious – lies “in the creation of even more virtuous models”.
* Report of the mission to analyze the profile and motivation of the perpetrators arrested during the episode of urban violence (June 27 – July 7, 2023), by the General Inspectorate of Justice and the IGA.
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