Perhaps they are staying true to their Parisian roots? It's very hard to find cafes in Paris that allow you to move tables to accomodate larger groups, at least that was my experience.

To be fair, it could be that because Le Notre is a franchise, there may be a rule that says that tables cannot be moved from their set positions, as a way of keeping all the restaurants looking the same.

However, if this were the reason then management should have politely apoligised that they are unable to. Instead it just sounds more like management are twats.

I'll add it to my black list!