The city of Lille has made the new nightlife hours permanent

• The city of Lille has been experimenting since June 2021 with new closing times for night bars.

• In particular, it was a question of putting an end to sectorization and the derogatory regimes which allowed certain establishments to close later than others.

• The new rules have been made permanent, in particular the early closing of the terraces.

At the beginning of 2022, the town hall of Lille definitively ratified the new closing times for night establishments after an "experiment" carried out since June 2021. The measure did not make a fuss among professionals in the sector, including a small party loses where a majority wins.

The only question that is a bit of a debate concerns the terraces having to close two hours before the rooms to reduce nuisance on the public road.

In mid-June 2021, the city of Lille announced to the press a plan to "homogenize" the closing times of bars.

Indeed, in certain districts of the city, certain establishments benefited from derogation allowing them to lower the curtain at 3 a.m., or not at all, while others could not exceed 2 a.m.

The town hall then drew the outlines of rules common to everyone: 1 a.m. from Sunday to Wednesday, and 2 a.m. from Thursday to Saturday.

This new operating system was to be tested until the end of 2021 with, at the end, a report to determine the effectiveness of the measure.

"A priori, it satisfies the majority"

“We assessed it a bit together, with my colleagues from the city, district managers, with the mayor.

We all found that it was a point of balance that suited us, ”explains Arnaud Taisne, deputy mayor in charge of nightlife.

Traders were not invited to this debriefing.

"We talk to each other all the time.

We know their position, we know their difficulties, we support them.

A priori, it satisfies the majority and it seems difficult to me to go further, ”he continues.

We therefore remain on the terms defined during the experiment, including for the early closing of the terraces.

In this regard,

has contacted a few establishments concerned, which prefer not to make waves.

“At the end of the sectorization, we cannot say that it is unfair even if it penalizes some professionals.

On the terraces, I'm not sure that closing them in advance solves the problem of nuisance, ”laments the manager of a night bar in Old Lille.

“Even if the terrace is closed, customers continue to go out to smoke.

We do our best so that they don't make noise, but we're not cops either,” adds another trader from the same sector.

“We believe that it is relevant and I remind you that it is up to the operators to ensure that their customers do not go out in too many numbers, that there are no outbursts of voices”, insists the chosen.

In the Masséna-Solférino sector, a hotspot for student nightlife, residents have noticed “an improvement” in terms of noise pollution, without necessarily attributing it to the new timetables.

“Already there are fewer people on the terrace in winter, there has also been the Covid effect and the requalification of certain clubs into bars.

It's a combination of factors that made us gain peace of mind,” admits Yves, a member of the collective of residents of Masséna-Solférino.

Precisely on the terraces, Yves ensures that this only shifts the problem by two hours.

“It allowed a number of sectors to calm down.

Now, the alpha and omega of a nightlife policy is not schedules.

We need in-depth work that we are carrying out,

in particular conciliation on a case-by-case basis to settle conflicts”, assumes Arnaud Taisne.

The other solutions may come from the future nightlife charter, currently being finalized with the Night Council.

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