Deposit at least 10 euros in a small locker at the back of a bar every month and get the money back in November, before buying Christmas gifts: savings clubs, imported from Germany, are resisting in Alsace-Moselle, despite the closure of many bars in the countryside.
In savings clubs, the end of the year rhymes with repayment of savings: at the end of November-beginning of December, as Christmas and festive meals approach, members can recover the amount of their savings for the year by check.
At the end of the morning, on a Saturday in December, the “L'Ecossais” club met at the Café du chemin de fer in Algrange (Moselle), where more than 130 small lockers have been installed for more than 50 years.
They allow each member to leave more or less large sums every two weeks.
You must pay at least five euros every 15 days, otherwise penalties of three euros will be charged.
The objective, a few days before the end of year celebrations: to distribute the envelopes, already ready, numbered like the lockers, and containing a check for a year's savings for each member.
“Make sure it’s the right amount,” said one saver to another, in a good-natured atmosphere.
– Champagne –
Once the envelope has been collected, the savers turn to the bar where they order a coffee, a beer or even… a bottle of champagne, to celebrate.
The amounts collected vary from the minimum amount of 120 euros to several thousand euros.
A man came to collect three envelopes at once: his own, but also those corresponding to the lockers of his wife and his daughter.
Savings clubs are authorized in Alsace (Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin) and in Moselle, due to local law, which authorizes associations in the three departments to pursue a profit-making goal, unlike the “1901 law” associations of French law.
The number of savings clubs, however, decreases each year, with the closure of the banks, which often have difficulty finding buyers.
In Henriville, not far from the German border, the restaurant closed in 2019 and the bar in 2021. This is where the lockers were placed.
Lucienne Posselt (née Fayel, the name of the bar), its last manager, grew up with the savings club. But she retired without putting this family establishment up for sale.
– “Car cartoons” –
When it was created, in 1972, “I was 12 years old,” she smiles. At least six people met, twice a month, to carry out the surveys… But many other members also took the opportunity to chat and have a drink.
The average age of the club is “60 to 80 years old”, estimates its president, Rémi Touba, 74 years old.
The club has, however, been able to adapt over time: since 2012, it has only returned a year's savings by check, to avoid “any problems”. Especially since the final amount is significant, each member saving on average 630 euros annually. “In the old days, the savings were used to buy the car sticker,” remembers Ms. Posselt.
Now, members can pay for their holiday meals and Christmas gifts, suggests Mr. Touba. Some people choose to save the sums they receive during the year, for their birthday for example, in order to “not spend them on just anything”.
The interest is used to finance an outing or the club's annual banquet.
AFP
AFP, Savings
