“Scourge” for some, practical for others: in Grigny, the business of wild garages

A man in a down jacket is bent over the bowels of a Peugeot 207. He operates the beast with an adjustable wrench and screwdriver.

Next to it, another, who we will call Mike, observes the scene.

It’s his car: “I had an injector problem.

So I came here.

» Here, it's a car park on rue Pasteur, in the Grigny 2 district, a stone's throw from the Grigny-Centre station.

The scene is usual in one of the poorest towns in Essonne where more than 17,000 inhabitants live together.

For years, the authorities have been fighting against “wild” (or illegal) garages, set up in the open air in car parks, run by undeclared mechanics who work undeclared.

“A real scourge,” says the town hall.

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