In Paulx, the wedding hall is transformed into a temporary bistro

Charles Guyard / Photo credits: Jonathan Raa / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP 9:59 a.m., February 17, 2024

In order to maintain its IV license, the town hall of Paulx in Loire-Atlantique is transforming the wedding hall into a café for one Sunday morning. A real lack, when we know the social importance of a bistro, particularly in rural areas. A temporary solution, hoping for the upcoming opening of a café in this town of 2,050 inhabitants.

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“It’s no longer the wedding hall, it’s a bar”

Roll of tape in hand, Christian Gauthier, the mayor, is busy at the entrance to town hall. “I'm putting up this poster which prohibits the sale of alcohol to minors. It's no longer the wedding hall, the boardroom, it's a bar,” he explains. 

The portrait of the President of the Republic may well be in the middle, but this usually very republican place will become a real café this Sunday morning. The prices are also displayed: one euro for coffee, pastis and beers at 2.50 euros. 

Strict rules to respect

It is not for a tribute or a ceremony that this bar will open for a few hours, but to allow the town to keep the IV license that it bought around ten years ago from the last bistro which closed. While waiting to find a buyer and in order not to lose the precious sesame, the law requires it to be used at least twice every five years. Be careful, there are very strict rules to respect. 

“We had the possibility of taking the multipurpose room, but it is too close to the school, so the prefecture prohibited us from doing so. We need a deliberation in the council, for prices with the Public Treasury, to create a management system for collect and then return the money to the treasury. We have all the constraints of a bar to be able to keep this license,” he explains. A license purchased for 20,000 euros by the municipality.