It is at the heart of Paris and of current affairs.
The Île de la Cité has been hosting in its courthouse, since September 8, the painful trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015. At the dawn of nine months of exceptional trial which condemns the City to a strong security system, traders and restaurateurs are on the front line.
Read also Trial of November 13: what the 14 defendants said at the hearing
The course of the trial on the Island had however raised the hope of the return of the crowd for the professionals of the district. It is not so. Located opposite the courthouse, the
Les Deux Palais
brewery
was disillusioned on the second day of the hearing. From now on, four times a week, each audience sounds the installation of an extraordinary security device and a chilling atmosphere.
The dozens of CRS coaches, numerous police officers and the sidewalks lined with barriers do not really facilitate access to shops and restaurants, you have to take the trouble to make a big detour.
"
It's a disaster,
" says Aymeric, one of the officials.
Yet accustomed to a clientele of men and women of the law, the establishment receives only a few participants in the trial.
The court has its own refectory and busy court days are not favorable to the comings and goings of professionals.
Only hope for Aymeric, the brewery faces what is now the exit of the court, more advantageous for the glasses of end of the day.
On the Île de la Cité, one day of hearing.
Thomas COEX / AFP
The finding is perhaps even more alarming for professionals near the entrance to the court, Place Dauphine.
The shops in the square are caught between two security barriers to access the entrance to the building, creating logistical difficulties and limiting the arrival of customers.
So much security "
awakens fear
" for Sébastien, manager of the Le Dauphin crêperie.
He too is surprised that the trial was organized here, at the risk of damaging the heart of Paris.
For twelve years at the head of the establishment, the boss has seen the island in all its forms, from the fire attacks of Notre Dame, from the pandemic to the trial.
The boss keeps the face, but "
it will be hard
", he sums up.
A series of events
"
The district has had a series of
disappointments,
" confirms the manager of a souvenir shop facing the Sainte-Chapelle, the only cultural visit possible with the concierge.
In these shops dependent on the tourist flow, despite the return of a few Europeans this summer, the scintillating Eiffel Towers and traditional sailors await the customer.
The only hope of these professionals?
A lawyer to represent them and an appeal filed a few days ago at the prefecture to request the modification of the security system.
Rue Cloître-Notre-Dame Marion Bosse Duplan for the Figaro
On the other side of the island, if the trial is less felt, another trauma has considerably changed the landscape. The Notre-Dame de Paris fire on April 15, 2019, condemned the adjacent businesses to several years of work. Rue d'Arcole, against a background of hammers and metallic noises, near a souvenir shop on two displays a lowered curtain. Yet it is one of the biggest shopping streets on the island, testifies the manager of one of the only open shops. "
Do you want me to tell you?" The real problem is to have cut pedestrian flows by blocking the square of Notre Dame,
”says the shopkeeper, cap screwed on his head. “
Even the café at the corner of Aux Tours de Notre Dame is only open three days a week,because it's not worth it
", according to him.
Its souvenir shop already announces less than 80% of turnover for 2021.
Read also Notre-Dame de Paris: the security work has been completed, the restoration will be able to begin
In the rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame, the immense wall of works has replaced the historical view and the greenery of the gardens.
L'Esmeralda's
coffee
suffers from this, and for a long time.
"
The winter will be very hard,
" says Roger Frédéric, manager of the restaurant belonging to his family since 1957. The end of the restrictions has been felt, of course, tourists have returned, yes, but without the possible visits of Notre -Lady, the neighborhood has lost its enthusiasm.
Closed in August in the uncertainty of the sanitary pass and the possible arrival of foreigners,
L'Esméralda
didn't put money aside for the winter season and state aid has gone. For the time being, it is difficult to plan for the merchants of the Île de la Cité. Caught between the trauma of the fire and that of the attacks, the heart of Paris is undergoing a slow reconstruction, and is impatient to find the crowd of yesteryear.