“We are freezing”… In Rennes, the end of barnums on the terrace arouses anger

• Banned since January 1, 2022 in Rennes, barnums have long been tolerated.

  They must now be removed from the terraces.

• Customers, especially smokers, and bistro owners do not understand the decision of the municipality.

• The city of Rennes wanted to act for reasons of public health but also aesthetic, in order to protect its heritage.

The “caliente” summer is forgotten.

In Rennes, we brought out the down jackets and hats to face a month of November that was not so cold but above all wet.

A rotten weather typical of autumn which does not prevent the Breton capital and its large student population from going out in the evening to drink a few beers.

The advantage is that with this time, the beverage remains fresh.

But in front of the many bistros, there is severe grumbling, especially in the ranks of smokers.

In question ?

The gradual disappearance of barnums that protected customers from rain and wind.

toured the bistros to better understand.

On January 1, 2020, Rennes said goodbye to heated terraces, without knowing that the government would impose the measure a year and a half later.

If some traders grumbled (redundant), the decision taken for environmental reasons was well understood.

“It was stupid, everyone accepted it”, summarizes this customer leaning on a high table.

The same cannot be said of the disappearance of the barnums.

Acted by the socialist municipality on January 1, 2022 for reasons of public health and aesthetic questions, the decision was first materialized by the disappearance of the side tarpaulins.

Roofs were once tolerated but must now be replaced by parasols.

The objective was clear: it was necessary to find the public space and harmonize the furniture to preserve the heritage of Rennes.

“The barnums multiplied after the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants [in 2007].

Gradually they were closed on the sides.

In some places like Les Lices or Place Rallier-du-Baty, we had forests of barnums.

It was a deprivation of public space which was contrary to the public health code”, recalls Didier Le Bougeant,

Misunderstood Arguments

These arguments put forward at the time of the construction of the charter of the terraces had been heard by the owners of the cafés.

But not always accepted or understood.

Time has passed but the opposition remains in the majority.

“There is nothing harmonized.

Everyone bought different stuff, the argument doesn't hold.

For me, it's a disguised way of killing the terraces so that the residents can be quiet, ”says Maxime.

The manager of the La Cabane bar is one of the few in the very popular Mitterrand mall to have kept his barnums.

“For the moment, we are not told anything”.

This artery, which a few years ago housed an ugly car park, has been transformed into a giant terrace since the installation of several bars.

Thanks to the barnums, these bistros regularly saw dozens of customers crowding under the tarpaulins, even when the weather was terrible.

“When it rains, we have half of our tables that are soaked.

We see a lot fewer people, ”says Maxime.

“We are freezing, but yesterday was worse.

Really awful”

Sitting down for coffee, Juliette, Louise and Erwan took advantage of the good weather to sit on the terrace.

Cigarette in hand, they testify to being “regulars”.

“We are freezing, but yesterday was worse.

Really horrible, it was raining, it was windy.

I was frozen”, explains Louise.

With the arrival of autumn, the young woman has invested in a heated jacket to continue spending her evenings outside.

Her friend Juliette, who comes from Montpellier, assures us that there, “there are barnums everywhere”.

And yet, the weather is not the same as in Rennes.

But why not go into the bistros if they are so cold?

We asked the question to Agathe, Julie, Angèle and Jeanne.

“The terrace is more convivial.

You can make big tables, you see people pass outside.

Inside, sometimes you're too tight, it oppresses you, you can't hear yourself speak because of the music”.

But they recognize one thing.

"Often, our friends who do not smoke yell when we are outside".

Like them, the vast majority of those who brave the cold are smokers.

“The umbrellas, they fly away”

These four students were sitting in front of the Champ-Jacquet bar when we passed them.

Located on the square of the same name, the establishment is known for the beautiful half-timbered facades that overlook it.

Here the aesthetic argument could make sense.

“We removed the barnums and bought parasols.

Tell me if you see the difference,” says Thomas, the bar manager.

Let's be honest... Between the black tent and its four legs and the parasol placed right next to it, we don't really make the distinction.

“Umbrellas, as soon as there is wind, they fly away, they are not made for that.

We have some who have fallen on customers, ”says the bar manager.

The architect of the Buildings of France has however authorized the bistros to install anchor points on the ground to fix the famous parasols.

For now,

After a tour of the streets of the city center, we can say that they are very few in this case.

The disappearance of the barnums, however, has aesthetic virtues in certain sectors, especially when the bars are closed and their parasols put away.

The rue Saint-Michel, famous rue de la Soif, is more airy, as is the place Sainte-Anne, where the tangle of tents and especially tarpaulins stifled the heritage.

But apart from the small arteries of the historic center, the result is not crazy.

“The view is still clearer and more liberated.

In some places, barnums had become obstacles,” adds Didier Le Bougeant.

The elected socialist believes that in Brittany, “we cannot eat on the terrace all year round.

There are seasons and you have to accept that”.

"The city has set a rule but it does not apply it"

The problem is that the few bistros that “don't play the game” generate some tension in the profession.

“The city has set a rule but it does not apply it, it lets it happen.

When you have a bar that keeps its terrace well protected, it will have people, he will work well.

What we are asking for is just a little fairness, ”says Maxime, owner of P’tit Vélo, a bar at the top of the Place des Lices.

He has already abandoned all the barnums, in favor of more frail parasols.

Well aware that his terrace will no longer work on rainy evenings, he consoles himself with a rather spacious interior space.

A rare property in the historic center.

“The city had been overwhelmed by the barnums, it had not framed the thing enough.

But there was better to do than to remove everything, ”he admits.

The point of view is shared by Thomas, the manager of Champ Jacquet.

“We went too quickly, without consulting.

We could have adapted, followed specifications, even strict ones”.

Since September, the city has carried out checks and several fines have been drawn up according to our information.

In the profession, many would have liked to have an exemption to take out their barnums only in winter.

Most do not despair that the municipality will backtrack.

The proof, many establishments have kept the famous tents… You never know.

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