After a hectic weekend and more than a week of demonstrations, the yellow vests continue their movement despite significant losses for storekeepers.
The importer and exporter Frutas Ponche France is located in Perpignan. According to Charles Farran, the movement of "yellow vests" paralyzes the trade. People are especially afraid that transport will be permanently blocked. For the moment, there is not a real blocking but rather a filtering.
"The movement delays departures significantly. People fear that the goods will not arrive. Spaniards, for example, ask a lot of questions before loading, "says Charles. However, he points out that there is not a lot of Spanish products on the French market at the moment because it has rained a lot in Spain.
According to Charles, there are still no significant losses of goods, but the products are starting to run out. "There is little supply, while the demand is still there."
Many supermarkets have had their access blocked or filtered by protesters over the weekend. Many were even forced to close earlier, as in Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont. The director of the Leclerc shopping center went to meet the yellow vests that blocked access but the situation became very tense, and resulted in the intervention of the police (Source: Vosges Matin).
Due to the movement, big brands are recording huge losses. Losses sometimes reach 80% of the figures made a year earlier at the same time. This is all the more important for them as it is marked by the promotions of Black Friday and the approach of the holiday season. "Saturday, we barely reached 40% of the goal set by the brand," deplores a seller of a Auchan from northern France. "It's unrecoverable. And that gives prominence to websites. (Source: Voice of the North)
For food vendors, the losses are clearly not recoverable and cause food waste. In Châteaurenard (Bouches-du-Rhône), the National Interest Market is unable to make deliveries. Consequence: fridges overflow and the goods are perishing very quickly. Seasonal vegetables may never be delivered. For the company, the shortfall represents 3 000 to 4 000 € per day (Source: France Info).
In France, some spokespeople announce an Act 3 for the weekend of December 1st. In the Reunion, yellow vests reported that they would intensify the blockades of supermarkets on Monday.