"Abominable", "badly tinkered with": a collective goes to war against ephemeral terraces in Paris

They grew by the thousands in the streets of the capital in June 2020. Of all sizes, made of pallets, sometimes protected by bamboo or plastic sheeting, with grass green carpet flooring.

A roof and side walls, for a small hut side or a simple wooden delimitation.

In short, as soon as the City of Paris authorized, in the spring, cafetiers and restaurateurs to equip themselves with an ephemeral terrace, the latter, cruelly affected by the health crisis, competed in ingenuity to afford an outdoor space.

There are 8,000 today in Paris, which can remain in place until June 30.

Already 250 reports

The only thing is: the establishments closed their doors again at the end of October, with no reopening date announced… And the terraces have remained.

Degraded, soiled or quite simply cumbersome, they have become the target of the Vivre Paris network, a collective of around twenty associations across the capital.

The Vivre Paris network denounces in particular the place occupied in public space, for no use now.

LP / Cecile Beaulieu  

Determined to make the voices of residents heard, the collective has created an email address and invites Parisians to seize it to report the most embarrassing and damaged terraces.

Then to send locations and photos to the City, via the Dans ma rue app, which allows everyone to report anomalies encountered on their way.

In a few days, 250 reports were made.

“It's abominable!

enrage Gilles Pourbaix, president of the Vivre Paris network.

Some facilities have become veritable garbage cans.

They make the streets ugly, making some of our neighborhoods look like slums.

The waste accumulates there, favoring the proliferation of rats.

"

Announced ephemeral, "they confiscate, in general indifference, parking spaces, those reserved for disabled people, spaces for bicycles, delivery spaces that prevent craftsmen from working", continues Gilles Pourbaix.

According to Vivre Paris, many of the facilities do not respect the charter.

LP / Cecile Beaulieu  

A photographic anthology has been posted, accompanied by unflattering comments.

"Infect";

"Badly tinkered with";

"Neglected";

"When they are in operation, it is already a shame, but leaving them in place for months now is downright absurd".

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Local residents have so far received only ten responses from the administrators of the Dans ma rue application.

Most often with the same comment: “Absence of anomaly”.

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So much for aesthetics and size.

There remains legality.

Gilles Pourbaix affirms it: the charter drawn up by the City would not always be respected.

Far from there.

“There are many pieces of equipment that exceed the fixed height of 1.30 meters maximum.

Many are also real constructions fixed to the ground, while these terraces must be removable.

The municipality must at least ensure that those which are outside the charter are dismantled.

"

To win its case, Vivre Paris is working on a summary complaint for “occupation of public space”.

Faced with abuse, the City, which did not respond to our requests, had tightened the regulations imposed on traders while they were still open.

But for four months, everything seems frozen.

The fear of the network?

That these facilities be perpetuated this summer, on the occasion of the revision of the regulations for Parisian terraces, on the city's agenda.