Angry tobacconists: a snail operation between Alès and Nîmes

GHISLAINE MAZOYER Midi Libre – Lydia CHASSIER

Les buralistes se rassemblent à Alès, ce jeudi matin du côté de la 2×2 voies avant de se déplacer vers Nîmes.

This Thursday, February 15, at the call of tobacconists in Gard, a snail operation is planned between Alès and Nîmes. The scheduled departure from Alès at 7:30 a.m., at the first roundabout, at the entrance to the dual carriageway, near the Cora supermarket.

The procession will then travel to Nîmes west, and continue on Avenue Maréchal Juin, then Route de Beaucaire, to end in front of the Gard prefecture. A meeting is set between the tobacco shops and the prefect, at 11 a.m.

In a press release, Ghislaine Mazoyer, president of the Confederation of Tobacconists of the Gard department, protests "against the price of a pack of cigarettes at 5 € in Spain against 12.50 € in France. Another subject of rebellion, “cigarettes sold illegally in the night grocery stores of Nîmes or Alès. In 2003, the parallel market was estimated at 3% compared to around 36%, and soon it will represent half of sales. Today, 80% of taxes escape the State. We know very well that these sales can fuel mafia networks, we must stop. We demand a freeze on tobacco price increases.