At the Pavillon, the new establishment located opposite the town hall in Auray, a giant screen awaits the supporters of the French team for the 22nd edition of the World Cup. Arriving in June, Mathilde Ferry and Damien Ronda, the owners, acquired a television especially for the apartment. The goal? “To attract, from this first match, people around a board, an aperitif with local draft beers and Beaujolais Nouveau, all in a friendly atmosphere”, assures the manager of this bar, canteen and brunch, which will send all the Cup -the matches, those of France with sound, the others without, unless the customers request it. The pastel-coloured establishment will adorn itself with flags “if France goes far in the competition”.
The traditional pizza-beer formula
At the Armoric, Antoine Dauer, room manager, gives the same speech. “If France qualify, the staff will wear a shirt.” A staff already ready to serve its famous “formula that always pleases”, the traditional pizza beer. “People come here for that,” testifies the employee at the Saint-Sauveur bar, which will also broadcast all the matches in the event. If he hopes that the Armoric will be full house from this meeting between France and Australia, Antoine Dauer qualifies: “I think it will attract fewer people than in the summer, but we will definitely see more locals”.
Less optimistically, the manager of the Bistrot des halles, Julien Robin, notes “a kind of general disinterest” in this World Cup. Questions according to him, the location of the competition that is discussed and the season. “In the winter I’m sure it will be less fluid.” Not equipped enough and not having the BeIN Sports TV channel, he decided to only show matches in the country. “Let’s say it’s a plus, but if there aren’t many people in the evening, I don’t stay open,” he announces.
It is not about sanctioning the competition […] but rather a boycott of television in general.
Even more radically, in Saint-Goustan, the manager of the bar-restaurant La Licorne, Pascal Peltier, confirms that his television “will remain switched off”. For the simple and good reason that his establishment, which is open in the afternoon in the summer, is closed in the off-season after the noon service. “In June it smells like a holiday. There are students, tourists… It is more festive”.
Not even the WC in the grocery store. “It’s not really a question of sanctioning this competition and its location, but rather a boycott of television in general, agrees Mathilde Laloue, co-manager of the wine and cocktail bar’s place wheel. We prefer people talking to each other, dancing , sings… Broadcasting matches is simply not our niche”.