“That’s three times in one month!”

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This Tuesday, October 8, at the end of the morning, the traders of the Old Port in Marseille had their heads underwater… or at least their feet. For the third time in a month, the Old Port was flooded due to the heavy rains which fell on the Marseille city.

Machines out of service, flooded cellars, lost stocks: these traders are at their wits’ end.

Flooded businesses

At the end of the morning, in front of each business, we could see professionals busy with water squeegees in hand. In a souvenir shop adjacent to the Old Port, the weariness is palpable : “That’s three times in one month! Look at the place, they could at least clean it up! The Old Port esplanade is impeccable and we are underwater and in the mud…”

All the businesses surrounding the Old Port suffered damage, literally. The objective? Get the establishment ready to open as quickly as possible “in addition to the cost of the damage, we will have to do without customers! », sighs Manu, throwing soaked cardboard boxes in front of his bar.

Considerable material damage

If cleaning up the water that has invaded the businesses is already a painful task, the material damage represent a much more serious problem. At the tobacco bar Le Canebière, the owner is desperate:

All the stock in the cellar is ruined because the cellar is completely flooded! We also have a lot of machines that have taken on water and which also need to be thrown away!

“Who is really helping us? »

Faced with the damage, several traders feel neglectedby public authorities. “Three times in less than a month!” Don’t you think they should think about doing work here, rather than talking to us about cycle paths? ! », exclaims the waiter of a bar located on the Quai des Belges.

In the neighboring souvenir shop, the same observation is evident, and the questions are flying: “At the 20th flood are we really going to help traders? Who really helps us? », asks the owner, visibly exhausted.

Although these meteorological episodes are qualified extraordinarywith precipitation well beyond seasonal averages, traders fear a repeat of this pattern.

For some, these successive floods could lead them to bankruptcy.

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