"An explosive situation".
Frank Delvau, president of the Union of trades and industries of the hotel industry (Umih) Paris Ile-de-France, displays the color in front of the "extremely large number of refusals" of the town hall.
"We had 12,000 terraces in 2020, we will have 3,000, 4,000 maximum this year," he laments.
A few days before the start of the season, introduced from April 1 to October 31 by the new municipal regulations (RET), 1,600 bars and restaurants have received authorization to be able to redeploy their tables on parking spaces, medians and plots. , out of around 11,000 "raw" requests, told AFP Olivia Polski, the deputy (PS) for trade to mayor Anne Hidalgo.
But the flow of files being continuous, with “2,300 requests submitted since February”, the municipal services, even mobilized for six months, still have 3,000 to process, she specifies.
"Some will not have their authorization until April or even May", plagues Mr. Delvau, for whom "this situation will create problems", in particular with professionals without authorization to settle in public space.
Faced with this threat, the new Parisian municipal police must carry out a first phase of control "with pedagogy and discernment", but also "vigilance" in the face of the "nuisances produced", tempers the town hall, which knows how to walk on eggshells as the relations between merchants and exasperated residents are tense.
"Pandora's box"
"It's as if Polski had opened a Pandora's box," said Aude, an activist from the Right to Sleep collective for whom "half of the establishments with terraces were the subject of at least one report" in 2021.
Closing at 10 p.m. - compared to 2 a.m. for the classic terraces - not respected, amplified music, "noisy tables because drunk": "all summer, it's been hell for the residents", underlines this activist, for who "regulation is impossible" given the low number of municipal police officers.
On the front line in the search for a balance between economic attractiveness and public tranquility, the borough mayors have considerably tightened the screw after two years of "+ open bar + in dimensions, aesthetics, arrangements with the shops next door " , underlines Jean-Pierre Lecoq, the LR mayor of the 6th arrondissement.
"It is high time that we return to common law", recognizes Ariel Weil, PS mayor of Paris Center, who has counted 1,800 requests for summer terraces for, at this stage, 220 authorizations issued.
Consumers on an ephemeral bar terrace in Paris, July 23, 2020 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP / Archives
In the pedestrian district of Montorgueil where terraces abound, the elected socialist has decided to add a "more restrictive" regulation which provides for the prohibition of terraces on the road, in narrow lanes, in front of the neighboring business or on the sidewalk. opposite.
Few permanent extensions
Throughout Paris, a dozen local charters are thus coming into force in areas with a high concentration of bars.
In the 9th arrondissement, the mayor (Horizons) Delphine Bürkli opposed the permanent extensions yet planned by the RET and on which many restaurateurs were counting so as not to have to dismantle their terrace.
"A problem nest," said Jean-Pierre Lecoq, who also refused them at Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
As a result, there are just over 200 annual extensions in the entire capital, according to Ms. Polski.
In the 11th century, Mayor François Vauglin said no to moving delivery areas to allow terraces to settle there.
"When we signed the RET, there was an agreement in principle" to grant these arrangements at the expense of the restaurateurs, grinds Frank Delvau, for whom the latter were "cheated".
An ephemeral café terrace in Paris, July 22, 2020 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP / Archives
The town hall recalls its "strong support for traders and restaurateurs" during the crisis, with the exemption from terrace rights decided by Anne Hidalgo, a shortfall estimated at 45 million euros.
And she points out that, even fewer, the summer terraces should bring in 2.5 million euros more per year.
© 2022 AFP