It’s time to rebuild. The many republican symbols partially or totally destroyed by the anger of many rioters like town halls, as in Persan (Val-d’Oise), schools as in Tourcoing, came the time for recovery. In addition to these emblems of the French Republic, some businesses were affected by these nights of violence, taking place following the death of young Nahel, in Nanterre. Among these, there are many post offices across the territory.
“Following the urban violence, nearly 80 post offices could not reopen due to destruction or risks for postal workers and customers. In addition, 80 ATMs were also destroyed”, as explained Philippe Wahl, Chairman and CEO of the La Poste group in a press release. In addition, the postal service operator “deplores these serious acts and makes every effort to ensure the continuity of its services to its customers, individuals, professionals and communities”.
Obviously, as we can easily imagine and as is the case for other organizations in the daily life of the French, the establishments affected suffer various consequences. Among them, delays. And they are many. Thousands of letters see their sending and receiving times being slowed down, but not only. Parcels, sometimes destroyed or looted by rioters, are also experiencing delays, if they have been spared.
Apart from that, bad news could await many beneficiaries, especially in the Paris region, as revealed by Le Figaro. Indeed, all post offices have a La Banque Postale counter, where no less than 1.5 million recipients come to collect their social benefits every 6th of the month. This falls rather badly since it is Thursday July 6, 2023…
This Monday, July 3 marked the date of the inventory of the various ransacked postal signs. Near Reims, no less than three post offices suffered significant damage. On Place Mozart or Place de Pays-de-France, broken windows and broken furniture, come to welcome a few employees who have come to see the damage, as reported by L’Union. Other establishments located in Poitiers, Rouen or Lyon could not reopen, after having suffered comparable damage.
However, it is the Paris region that remains the most affected by this damage. A hundred public buildings have been degraded or destroyed in Île-de-France by the riots of recent days, according to a count of the region. As far as bank branches are concerned, they are not out of the question either. According to the French Banking Federation (FBF), 370 branches were affected, including 40% in Île-de-France.
Unsurprisingly, the damage is colossal. The numbers show it. Indeed, the Confederation of tobacconists indicated on its website Tuesday that “more than 429 colleagues” had been “hard hit by the riots”, for a total cost of damage estimated at more than 15 million euros. Quoted on the site, the president of the confederation Philippe Coy also denounced “free damage to local businesses”. Consequently, an emergency fund of up to 20 million euros received a positive vote in favor of town halls and businesses, this Wednesday, July 6, with the hope of a rapid return to service.
