• The 158 producers and traders of the Talensac market encounter various difficulties.

  • The town hall (PS) of Nantes says it is “mobilized so that the market strengthens its attractiveness”.

  • This summer, the famous hall will become a stopover on the Voyage to Nantes route.

It is an essential place in Nantes, which is nevertheless going through difficult times.

At 85, the iconic Talensac market is not in great shape.

After the pandemic which turned the operation of the only covered market in the city upside down overnight, the thousands of weekly consumers are no longer as numerous to come and stroll through the aisles.

"For a few months, it's been really complicated, and not just on weekdays, regrets this fruit and vegetable merchant.

We were forced to raise prices and people can no longer keep up financially.

Before, there were crowds, they had fun… Now it's two or three pieces of fruit for the children, or nothing at all.

»

The 158 butchers, cheesemongers, fishmongers and other traders in the hall and its surroundings, which operates every morning six days a week, have other problems to face.

And in particular that of the workforce which is sorely lacking.

If one of the 65 cells is currently unoccupied, others have had to reduce their presence and downright close the curtain on certain days, for lack of personnel.

“It's a new phenomenon and it's sad, laments Vincent Touzet, president of the association of market traders, who hopes to quickly find new recruits.

It is certainly a job where you have to work on weekends, but you have the chance to be in direct contact with life, namely customers and good products.

»

The green line will pass through Talensac

In the meantime, the town hall (PS) of Nantes says it is "mobilized so that Talensac strengthens its attractiveness".

While a "product quality charter" is being drafted, it has commissioned the Voyage à Nantes so that the green line can take visitors to the hall this summer.

Over the next few days, around ten vending machines will be installed all around the market, which will therefore become a stage in its own right on the Journey.

“These automatons will tell the story of a shopkeeper who rediscovers his childhood love,” says Astrid Gingembre, project manager at Voyage à Nantes.

There will be a fishmonger, a greengrocer, a wine merchant… which will come alive during market opening hours.

» For the night of the Tables de Nantes (July 1st),

Will these events be enough to breathe new life into this Nantes institution, after the failure of night openings, and the false start of the conviviality kiosk?

Nothing is less sure.

Because other difficulties, regularly denounced by traders, have not yet been resolved.

First, the issue of parking, as many customers and exhibitors feel that it is increasingly difficult to park in the neighborhood.

That of the renovation of the building, which is aging, seems to be off to a better start.

“Networks, floors, roofing… The list of works that must be carried out will soon be submitted by the design office in charge of them, reports Hervé Fournier, municipal councilor in charge of markets.

We will phase the operations on the second part of the mandate.

»

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  • Nantes

  • Pays de la Loire

  • Economy

  • Trade

  • Inheritance

  • attractiveness