“I was angry this weekend at the lack of communication from the town hall but, today, I am reassured, because we finally have an identified referent,” confides Valérie Tempette, owner of the Le Saint-Rome tobacco shop. , rue Peyras, in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne).
Located about ten meters from rue Saint-Rome, where a building collapsed on Saturday March 9 in the morning, the shop had to close on Sunday, when the residents of the building at 1, rue des Puits-Clos, were evacuated after cracks were noted on this second building.
After a meeting of neighborhood traders this Tuesday morning at Toulouse town hall, Valérie Tempette is relieved: “We have been informed of a fortnight's closure to secure the premises, which allows us to take steps with insurance, banks and to put my employee on technical unemployment.
» She now plans to create a collective of traders to exchange information.
Fourteen businesses are affected.
“All those on the streets affected by the collapse of the building are in solidarity, even the most distant ones which are open today,” she underlines.
VIDEO.
A building collapses in the middle of the night in Toulouse
The building on rue des Puits-Clos, weakened by the collapse last Saturday, has been monitored for several years by the buildings department threatening ruin.
The ground has moved and the building has new cracks.
In total, nearly 200 people from this area were relocated on Sunday, including this couple from Toulouse, who found refuge with friends.
“We have no long-term visibility, we just know that for two weeks, we cannot access our accommodation,” explain, resignedly, these sixty-year-olds.
We have a common wall with the building in question, so we are waiting for the results of the expertise to know if we can return to it.”
For businesses authorized to open this Tuesday on rue Saint-Rome, rue des Changes and part of rue Peyras, the atmosphere remains gloomy.
“We see curious people, but as the street is cut off on certain portions, this does not facilitate activity,” assures the owner of a clothing store, a few meters from the building which collapsed.
I didn't make a sale this morning, so I'm losing money by being open.
»
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At midday, merchants whose stores had closed were able to access their stores for a few minutes to collect their belongings.
Samir Botriga, the owner of the Tunisian restaurant Plan A, located under the guarded building on rue des Puits-Clos, comes out of his business with a printer for his procedures.
“This is an unexpected event, I have never seen this so we just have to be patient, because the most important thing is the safety of the customers.
» A new meeting is planned for the end of the week to allow elected officials and traders to take stock of the evolution of the different situations.