If at the beginning of the protests last Saturday, the impact on the economic life of the yellow vests’ protest seemed uncertain, this is no longer the case. Indeed, hundreds of stores were blocked or closed this week. While some distributors like Intermarché have taken action as early as last week, supplying fresh products and fuel is difficult for the most part, and a 70% drop in overall figures has already been announced.
The General Delegate of the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD), Jacques Creyssel, told the news channel BFMTV on Wednesday that there were risks for employment and considerable losses of fresh produce. Some stores were unable to open on Monday and have therefore remained closed since the weekend. Service stations are also affected, as fuel is running out.
A spokesman for the retail giant Auchan deplored the fact that earlier this week about fifteen shopping centers were blocked with disastrous consequences, "up to 50 million euros over three days in loss of revenue for hypermarkets alone."
Suppliers cannot deliver or only partially deliver their goods. Some warehouses have been forced to go out of business. With "Black Friday" today and Christmas in a month, the shortfall may be significant for distributors. The FCD warns that this phenomenon could play into the hands of the US giant Amazon at the expense of French companies.
Source: BFMTV