INTERVIEW. Thierry Marx: “Restaurants that closed most often are those who make good cooking”

La Dépêche: What inventory do you do with the economic situation of restaurants?. In addition,

Thierry Marx : Above all, there is a drop in attendance of 25 to 30 % this summer. Similarly, I went around the tourist areas and everyone agrees to say that the season is halftone, especially on the coast. Similarly, The concern is strong among professionals. However, I insist, it is not only a cyclical problem linked to the season, it is a structural interview. thierry marx: “restaurants closed crisis. Similarly, I want us to be indignant today, but the situation has been deteriorating for 30 years.

What are the reasons?

Since the end of the COVIR, companies have no more cash. Therefore, In 2023. Therefore, with the explosion of energy costs, there were 8,500 closures linked to electricity bills, because the businesses did not have the funds to support that. Furthermore, In France, catering professionals are crushed by charges. Those who close most often are those who make good cooking.

You alert for a risk of “disgusting of France”. What do you mean by that?

I move a lot in the rural world and discover more distributors of pizza and industrial bakeries than bistros. There are only a few survivors left. When you lose gastronomic attractiveness, you lose tourists. Today, everyone can open a food business. But if we do not defend our restaurants, we attack interview. thierry marx: “restaurants closed the French identity. I am not against culinary diversity. but it is necessary to support the chef who puts his pans on the stove noon and evening. However, he finds himself making only 2 % margin, while those who sell industrial products are 8 %. Inevitably, our restaurateurs end up throwing in the towel.

Many customers complain about the rise in prices. How to find a balance to remain attractive?

The increase in prices on the map is inevitable when costs increase. Either you agree to be accused of increasing your prices and you stay alive, or you disappear. Today. customers have no disenchantment for good French cuisine, but it is still necessary that their purchasing power will allow it. You have to stop weighing colossal loads on companies: energy, wages, cost of raw materials.

You want to support and protect the “homemade” in catering …

You have interview. thierry marx: “restaurants closed to defend a quality label and “homemade” with good processed products. Customers, foreigners and French, are ready to pay more if they know what they eat. Today, you are more likely to succeed with a business school than with a hotel school. When a baker, a butcher, a fishmonger sells “homemade”, it must be valued and known.

Why do you demand a framework law to protect French gastronomy?

You have to take action. We are no longer emotion or indignation. We need a framework law to protect our restaurants and crafts from food trades. With several chefs. we have already met deputies and senators, and we will accelerate at the start of the school year to submit this bill. We hope it will go quickly.

What about the personnel crisis in catering?

200,000 restoration positions are missing. There is a real crisis, aggravated by the covid. But all interview. thierry marx: “restaurants closed sectors are affected, such as construction or health. The problem is not only linked to the job offer, but also to wages, housing, mobility. Once this structural problem has been solved across the country, it will be simpler. Today. between the net salary affected by the employee and the gross salary paid by the boss, the gap is too large and the charges weigh too heavy. We are now talking about taxation on tips, when it was one of the advantages that made the profession attractive. It is also necessary to encourage training. apprenticeship and bring back, via France work, people to the hotel and restaurant industry.