The exodus of partygoers is benefitting restaurants in Cabourg and Deauville on the Normandy coast, where many said on Tuesday that they are fully booked for New Year’s Eve, whereas last year they still had tables free until the last minute.
An official at Deauville town hall claimed the number of people who have signed up for the “traditional” annual midnight dip in the Channel has doubled this year, but declined to specify the exact number.
Caterers say party orders have fallen drastically compared to last year, Europe 1 radio reported.
Francis Cousin, a caterer who had more than 400 orders in Paris last year, says he has none in the city this year. “We’ve had a lot of New Year’s Eve cancellations,” he said. “It’s been catastrophic. Everyone wanted to cancel everything. People are reluctant to organise events involving a lot of people.”
France remains in a state of emergency, declared after the November 13 attacks in Paris in which 130 people died. Less than seven weeks later, the capital is on edge, with bomb squads being called out to investigate suspicious packages an average of 25 times a day.
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