Fire at the Barcarès Christmas Village: “The worst option would be that we would not be able to operate our restaurant”

The news broke on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 12: despite the impressive fire which devastated part of the site, the Barcarès Christmas Village would indeed open its doors quite quickly. Not this Saturday, November 16 as initially planned but a week later, on Saturday, November 23. For the record, on the night of Sunday November 10 to Monday November 11, around 4:30 a.m., a fire broke out within the Village itself, destroying seven wooden chalets, three maritime caissons and four refrigerated trucks. The intervention mobilized 61 firefighters from the Pyrénées-Orientales. The origin of the disaster would be “probably accidental” as declared Monday evening by the town hall of Barcarès in a press release.

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This Tuesday, November 12, it was on its social networks that the City once again spoke out: “Despite the fire, we are happy to announce the opening of the Christmas Village on November 23! Thanks to the mobilization of our teams, the magical holiday atmosphere will be there with activities, gourmet stands and surprises for young and old”. And this, “subject to change in the event of unforeseen circumstances”, she mentions at the end of her message.

Concerns

This is therefore good news which still leaves several questions raised. Particularly among the traders who had to occupy the chalets destroyed by the flames. Will the opening of the Christmas Village take place without them? This is the question asked by Mickaël Casas, the co-manager of the restaurant Les Épiciers in Perpignan. For three years, he has relocated his activity to the Christmas Village at the end of the year. “Everything was already there, we finished installing everything last Friday. Induction hobs, ovens, glass washers, dishwashers, everything burned”regrets the restaurateur who estimates his losses between €30,000 and €50,000. “The worst option would be that we do not leave again. That we cannot operate our restaurant at the Christmas Village. And again, I am lucky enough to be able to fall back on my establishment in Perpignan. This is not Not everyone’s case for now, we’re waiting.”

There is only a guy like Alain Ferrand who can ensure this kind of thing.

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This Tuesday afternoon, restaurateur Thibaut Frigola was on site, at Barcarès. He came to try to save what there was to save in his seasonal establishment La Nouvelle Cantine. “We couldn’t save anything, everything burned down. But we keep hope. There is only a guy like Alain Ferrand who can ensure this kind of thing. He will do everything to try to save the day for us The end of year celebrations mean a lot to us. It’s like a second season. I think it’s possible that the situation will be restored in a week. he is, with the contacts he a, he will manage to find solutions.”

Bertrand La Villa, the manager of Cimes, a restaurant also affected by the flames, is of the same opinion. “What scares us the most is not being able to open. But we trust the Barcarès town hall. We will adapt to the solutions they find for us. It’s really a race against time. Even if a week seems a little short to me, I have confidence.”