Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Russian diaspora in France, as in many countries, has been a collateral victim of Vladimir Putin’s policy. In Paris, Russian restaurateurs are also bearing the brunt of this particularly tense climate.
Never seen. For eighteen years he has been managing The Russian Canteen in Paris, Georges Casarian, has never known such an empty room. ” This afternoon we only have one reservation, it was two people… usually we have about thirty when it’s not full, we’re very busy! »
A veritable institution of Russian culture in the capital, this restaurant established since 1923 now seems shunned by its regulars and lives in fear. In addition to the sudden drop in his clientele, the boss of this Parisian institution must also face another type of problem. ” We had a lot of threats by phone; they insult us, insult the Putin Russian government, they ask us to change the name of the restaurant… I don’t know why: we are far from politics, we are restaurateurs! “, laments Georges Casarian.
The restaurateur employs employees from all the countries of the former Soviet bloc, a multiculturalism that is also found on the menu and in the music played. In the team, a chef, a waitress and also a dancer from Ukraine.
The whole restaurant suffers from the ambient climate, describes the manager. ” The atmosphere is terrible, the staff have started to be afraid, the working Ukrainians have quit, they are afraid that when they leave they will have problems, I too am afraid. We can go bankrupt, we risk closing the restaurant… we won’t last long… “.
On Monday evening, the Rachmaninoff Conservatory, located just above the restaurant, was the target of a fake bomb attack. Sunday evening the Russian Cultural Center was targeted with the Molotov cocktail… Not enough to reassure the customers of the Russian canteen: yesterday evening again, no reservations had been recorded.
Malicious acts that can occur in the provinces as well. The manager of the Kalinka grocery store filed a complaint in Rennes, Brittany, after her window was broken, regional media report.
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