Angry Paris Restaurant Owner Turned Down For Loan Bans Bankers (But Dogs Are OK)

Angry Alexandre Callet outside his restaurant (20 minutes.fr)

A furious French restaurant owner has banned bankers from his eatery because he was refused a loan - but dogs are welcome.

Alexandre Callet decided to get his revenge after he was turned down for a £55,000 loan by several banks in his bid to open a second restaurant.

And just in case they fail to get the message, Callet is displaying the details of the ban on a blackboard - which usually shows the dishes of the day - outside his gourmet west Paris establishment, Les Ecuries de Richelieu.

The board reads: “Chiens Acceptes, Banquiers Interdits” (Dogs allowed, bankers banned).

“I believe in reciprocity. I had to respond,” said a clearly angry Callet. “If you hit me, I’ll hit you.”

“As soon as I see a banker that I recognize I won’t let them enter my restaurant.

“They have treated me like a dog, so I have denied them access.”

He said a loan of £55,000 would have been no risk as his Rueil-Malmaison restaurant had a turnover of more than £200,000 last year.

“This is not just a kebab shop,” said Callet. My restaurant is in the Michelin guide and film stars come in here.”

Callet has ditched plans for a second restaurant because he cannot secure the funding.

He also ranted to “The Local” website that his predicament was typical of someone trying to make it on their own in France.

“I have never had financial problems and yet I find myself in this situation,” he said.

“Bankers are not doing their job. That’s why we have so many businesses in France who have to resort to crowd funding.

“France has problems understanding this. That’s why London has become the sixth French city.

“We have more civil servants than anywhere in the world, we have a social welfare system that has a bigger budget than the American defence budget.

“There’s the 35-hour week. There is globalization, yet our businesses are completely blocked. We can’t find oxygen,” he added.