At the entrance to rue des Rosiers, the emblematic flea artery of Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), large arrows painted on the ground and on signboards welcome the visitor, in English in the text: “Welcolm! (sic) ”. The registrations were erased at the very end of the week by the city. They guided tourists to a car park where you can park for the modest sum of “10 euros for 12 hours” in one of the most touristic areas of Greater Paris.
A rate that was marked by hand on a van, at the end of an alley leading to the two towers of the city of Boute-en-Train, landlocked in the antique markets and known to be a high place of drug trafficking in the town.
If the signs have disappeared, the parking area still exists. Behind the bins lined up as a rampart, this unauthorized paying car park was recently set up on the exterior of the city. "After confinement", say some puciers. "Three weeks ago," say other merchants.
The illegal parking zone is also accessible from rue Paul-Bert, by another alley. Garbage cans and cumbersome discarded in bulk also defend the entrance, replacing the private barriers deliberately broken in recent years. In the shade of the trees, young people from the neighborhood are getting ready to eat outside on tables and chairs in the garden.
"Ok, but the 10 euros, who are we giving them to?"
" What do you want ? », Asks one of them to passers-by who advance in the city to catch up with the rue des Rosiers. "Nothing, we are not here to buy hash, we just want to cut and go to the other side, because we parked very far, there are no places. And besides, can we park here? "
The young man answers immediately: “You cannot go through this, it is not possible. But if you want to put your car there, it's 10 euros. »Little hesitation, then reminds:« Ok, but the 10 euros, we give them to who? »Answer of the young man:« To me. "New time for reflection and new questions:" And for 10 euros, how long can we stay? Who tells us that the vehicle will not be vandalized? "Here again, the interlocutor is reassuring:" As much time as you want and there will be no problem. "
Newsletter - Most of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers. Learn more
The “boss” of the car park remains firm; however, it is not possible to cross or enter on foot. To get out, he sends passers-by to a pedestrian path watched over by a lookout slumped in a seat.
In the corridors of the town hall, there is no doubt that it is “the Boute-en-Train traffickers” who ensure the surveillance of this illegal parking lot. The file arrived on the table of the new mayor (PS), Karim Bouamrane, who addressed it during the last municipal council, on July 27. Its objective: "Better prevent the occupation of public space," explains the city councilor, who met the next day with the manager of Semiso, the lessor responsible for the management of housing in the city.
"Several measures have been launched by the city to resolve this problem," says its 2nd deputy, Adel Ziane, delegate in particular for Planning. First, the cleaning of all the inscriptions mentioning the presence of an unauthorized car park. Then, the setting up of a security guard, with the presence of a security guard during the day, on Saturdays and Sundays. The elected official also announces a "reinforcement of the national police and municipal police patrols", at the request of the city.
"This city is a real scourge"
It is difficult to assess the attractiveness of this car park for visitors to the Puces, as the enclave is made uninviting by the dealers. Even if the idea, improbable, can echo in this sector where tourists and professionals throng in their thousands, and where finding a parking space is a feat. In any case, it exasperates the antique dealers who are nearly 1200 working in the different markets. "It is a confiscation of the common space since residents charge and put the money in their pockets", judges a pucier.
Others installed in the Dauphine market are indignant: “It is scandalous. None of us is going. This city is a real scourge. And it is true that over the past five years, the “Boute” have deteriorated considerably. The former municipality (UDI) no longer wished to re-let the dwellings left vacant by tenants. “There will be no relocation at Boute-en-Train. The conditions are not met to ensure a decent quality of life for the inhabitants, ”announced the former mayor William Delannoy in 2018.
From the neighborhood escapes an impression of great abandonment. The only visible presences are those of the lookouts. A windfall for the traffickers who locked the premises. “It's deal territory! »Exclaims aggressively a man to the passer-by who would be too curious.
