In October 2022, the Lagardelle tobacco and newsagent was ravaged by water that attempted to contain the fire in the apartment above.
More than a year of closure for the Mistral
A hard blow for Nathalie Ivanoff Rubi, manager of the tobacconist’s and newsagent’s, who recounts this nightmare with emotion: “The fire was not arson, the tenants upstairs forgot to turn off the hob. The firefighters were working for 6 hours that night, we did our best to put it out. My tobacco was destroyed by the water from the fire hoses and the rubble from the apartment upstairs, which was engulfed in flames.
15 months without pay
I reopened last February due to concerns about appraisals and insurance compensation,
15 months where I had no salary.
The insurance companies only gave me a third of the amount owed.
I had a burnout, then I decided to fight, if I had waited for compensation, today nothing would have been done.
To reopen my store, my bank granted me a loan of €55,000 which I repay €3,000 every month.
I put the various insurances to justice, upon reopening, I received a wave of support and human warmth.
Thanks to my clientele, I was able to continue working,” she concludes.
One man was very important for the Mistral, Sébastien Robert Verd, director of a commercial establishment in a neighboring village:
“I think it’s normal to have helped her.
This lady found herself abandoned by everyone, even though she was not responsible for the disaster.
I advised him on communications and offered him all the publicity, we must salute his courage, his desire to bounce back, and his humanity,” he confesses.
15 years that Mistral has brought the city center of Lagardelle to life, 250 people pass through the doors of Mistral every day.
