Pas de la Casa Merchants Report Calm Reopening Weekend with No Sales Boost
Despite higher traffic from festivals after RN-20 road reopening, small shops saw no revenue recovery from prior closures due to weather and protests.
Key Points
- First weekend after RN-20 reopening brought more visitors via festivals like Snowrow but no significant sales rise.
- Small lower-town shops, excluding alcohol/tobacco sellers, suffered most from road closures and winter blockades.
- CES meeting Monday to assess losses and seek extra aid amid criticism of support favoring big firms.
- Traders below 25% drop threshold excluded from electricity and CASS subsidies despite hardships.
Merchants in Pas de la Casa described the first weekend after the RN-20 road reopened to France as relatively calm, despite increased traffic and visitors drawn by local festivals.
The period followed the March 14 Constitution Day, typically a holiday, and included events like Snowrow and Maricongelada, which boosted activity in the Encamp parish village. Shopkeepers noted higher footfall and vehicle numbers as expected, but this did not lead to significant sales growth, particularly for small outlets in the lower part of town that do not sell alcohol or tobacco. These businesses suffered most from the recent road closure, compounding disruptions from earlier winter blockades due to French farmers' protests and bad weather.
On Monday, members of the Pas de la Casa Economic and Social Council (CES) will meet to assess losses across local establishments and push for additional support measures. Òscar Ramon, president of the Neighbourhood and Merchants Association, has called for complementary aid to address the cumulative impact.
Some traders criticised existing relief as favouring larger firms over smaller ones. Those with quantified drops below the 25% threshold cannot access electricity bill reductions or CASS subsidies, leaving them without help despite real hardship.
The weekend served as a key gauge for the village's recovery after the access route's reopening, but merchants reported no notable uptick in revenue.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: