after the floods, the gradual reopening of the devastated commercial area

On October 17, torrential rains and floods forced the shops and hypermarket of Givors 2 Vallées, invaded by water and mud, to close their doors. The commercial area was devastated. More than three weeks after the events, we are still far from a return to normal.

After the floods of October 17 which drowned the Givors 2 Vallées commercial area, the devastated shops and businesses must gradually reopen. The shopping center was ravaged by the flood of the Gier and most of the stores suffered significant damage. THE small stream, between the departments of Rhône and Loire, invaded the entire commercial area. Rising waters and mud damaged a lot of equipment in the shops.

Three weeks after the flood,ur the 33,500 square meters of shopping mall, ahe only shop has reopened its doors, that of the optician. “It’s a pleasure to be able to find our customers and resume human contact, it’s good after what happened. People call, we work a lot by appointment“, explains Alexandra Replumaz, the assistant director of the optician. “We are one of the first, and we hope that the others will reopen very quickly to join us. We do not know where the other traders are,” she adds.

There is a lot of damage, but we will be patient. We live 10 minutes away, we come all the time, we find everything here.

Angelic

resident of Grigny

According to this trader, the gallery is completely closed. Angélique, a customer and resident of Grigny, tried her luck. The young woman, who came urgently for her pair of glasses, is impatient to see the shopping center reopen again.

The shopping mall is still healing its wounds, but customers and regulars are impatient and understanding. Take the path back to Givors, it is important for accustomed. They are waiting for its full reopening.

“We're not going to throw tantrums and want it to reopen straight away. We know it's hard for everyone, we'll give them time (…) But it's important to come back. loyalty. We come from Rive-de-Gier and we come for the shops.” explains Audrey. For now, “the silence and noise of the work is hard. But knowing that the traders are there is important”, adds the young woman.

“It’s important to come to be able to make the businesses work a little. We had heard that the shopping mall might have to reopen today, we came to see,” assures a customer from Loire/Rhône. Unfortunately, she will have to backtrack. Others change their habits, a little reluctantly. “It’s a little less practical,” believes a young mother, deprived of her usual pharmacy.

Before a complete reopening of the shopping mall, there is still a lot of work. And not all brands move at the same pace. Le The first department store in the sector to reopen its doors was the Castorama brand. If the rays of the DIY sign reach to make you forget the 80 centimeters of water and mud who have passed through there, the damage is still clearly visible on the exterior.

The urgency is greater for the independents only for large brands. Throughout the commercial area, around thirty businesses out of 110 can welcome customers again. But they wait impatiently the reopening of the main supermarket, Carrefour.