The sound of sparkling wine glasses wafted through the evening air recently as throngs of patrons sipped chilled rosé and nibbled on cheese platters in front of the cafes, restaurants and shops bordering the Place d’Aligre in Paris’ Bastille district.
Waiters slinked through the crowd, their trays brimming with aperoles and oysters, as more people hurried to meet friends. The kids played tag and lunged at their parents for an occasional French fry. Tourists order drinks and snap Instagram photos sure to inspire envy back home.
Diners were crammed into hundreds of chairs that had been put out earlier in the afternoon. But time was precious. The attractive setting will have to be completely dismantled by 10pm under strict post-pandemic rules to balance the interests of those who enjoy the spectacle – and those who find it a nuisance.
Paris has long been known for its bustling café culture, with 13,000 outdoor terraces occupying sidewalks and squares in the years before the pandemic. But thousands of additional outdoor spaces have blossomed under an emergency program set up to ease businesses during Covid lockdowns. They are now permanent, after 2021 decree by Mayor Anne Hidalgo who allows them to return every year from April through November.
As a result, parts of Paris that were vacant or even sketchy have been turned into moving destinations, with small economic booms.
Place d’Aligre is one of them. Mostly empty on pre 2020 nights a vibrant transformation has taken place here.
said Laurent Zenadi, director of V in Camillea family run coffee shop mostly used for morning and lunchtime needs from the neighborhood Alegher’s marcha food market founded in 1779. “Nobody used to come here in the evening. Now they come from all over Paris.”
in Except for oil and wine in frac, an Italian delicacy that sought ham and wine drained from casks, owner Salvatore Cantarella welcomed a wave of new customers to the Place d’Aligre after obtaining a license to open a “balcony estival,” or summer terrace. Additional work prevented him from collapsing. “I am very grateful to have a positive result,” he said.
Most of the new summer amphitheaters in Paris occupy parking spaces, about 4,000 of which have been covered with temporary wooden roofs. The banks of the Seine are also covered with pop-up tables, as are rooftops with panoramic views.
With less space for cars now – and with cycling lanes in the age of Covid permanent – thousands of people are commuting to the hottest spots in town.
“It’s very beautiful here,” said Claire-Anne Haines, the event’s organizer, who was trapped behind a small table with her friends in a small parking terrace on the Rue Condorcet in Montmartre. “The porch looked nice as I biked past, so I asked my friends to come over,” she said.
It all plays into Ms. Hidalgo’s larger scheme to make Paris an even more environmentally friendly city by Free public space from cars and reallocated for pedestrian and community use.
Not everyone welcomes the changes.
Residents’ associations clashed with the city over the noise the grandstands brought and kept pressuring the authorities over who should control the streets and sidewalks.
Critics accuse Ms. Hidalgo of allowing companies to privatize the public domain. Rail drivers around lost parking. hashtag, # Hahaha — or “the looting of Paris” — has become an outlet for angry people to post images of crumbling amphitheatres, which they say are a disgrace to the city’s beauty.
“The situation is hellish,” said Eric Durand, a spokesman for the organization. Right to sleepor the right to sleep, a group of citizens with representatives in every department of Paris.
The cacophony, he said, grew exponentially where he lived, near Rue des Abbesses in Montmartre. Some of the neighbors have moved away. Those who can’t afford it have to keep their windows closed or – horrific for Parisians – buy air conditioning units to keep cool on summer nights when the stands are completely blown away.
“We want this invasion of public spaces to stop,” said Durand.
But at the city council, officials say summer terraces are here to stay.
“Paris is a city of cafés. They are part of the French art de vivre,” said Olivia Polsky, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of commerce, using a French phrase meaning “art de vivre.”
Today, 4,000 summer amphitheaters are licensed through a paid licence, compared to the 14,000 that were open for free under emergency Covid policies. Ms. Polsky said grandstands must meet new beauty and noise guidelines, they must close by 10pm, loud music is banned, and owners face an “arsenal of new penalties and legislation for infractions,” including heavy fines or losing them. operating license.
More than 200 have been closed in the past year due to violations.
At the Place de la Réunion, a rustic square in eastern Paris festooned with canopy pine trees and an ornate fountain, café operators consulted local residents to address concerns.
“We listened to the neighbors and learned how to work things out,” said Perrin Ferry, a manager at the company. Flawless Cafe, whose summer terrace seats up to 130 people, compared to 40 on a regular pre-Covid café terrace. She said solutions include not throwing away bottles at night and starting to remove diners from the square at 9:45.
Locals said that with hundreds of people congregating each night, the area seemed safer and more cheerful. There was a village atmosphere on a recent evening as the children moved around while their fathers sat at the tables. The pink-haired friends sipped on orange scents before heading to an LGBTQ dance club.
In addition to the noise complaints, another downside, say some Parisians, is that the success of the terrace project accelerates the gentrification process in socially mixed areas. “It’s driving the poor out of the places where they used to live,” said Rafael Ludovici, a graduate student.
But on Place d’Alegre, supporters of the terrace said the summertime dinner has revitalized the working-class neighborhood. in networka bistro hangout of over 40 years that nearly went under with the hit of Covid, dozens of new staff have been hired to take care of the growing crowds.
On the final evening, after the Aligre food market closed and street sweepers cleaned the sidewalk, an old 1930s Reno truck was loaded loaded with La Grille outdoor tables and chairs. By 5 p.m., a colorful gazebo appears seemingly out of nowhere, and an hour later, dozens of patrons have settled in.
“It totally added to the charm of the place, and it creates a connection between people,” said Omar Hammouche, owner of La Grille, as a stream of customs stopped to shake his hand.
At Chez Camille, Mr. Zennadi and his family have installed new outdoor seating for about 100 people, on top of the 400 seats that other cafés have added to the square. Last year, the family invested €15,000, or $16,500, to license the porch and to upgrade outdoor furniture, among other improvements.
Recently, the café even started its own brewery, as Mr. Zenadi proudly points out.
“No one wants Covid to happen,” Zenadi said as a group of friends gathered on the sun-dappled terrace for an aperitif. “But we can be thankful for the good things that came out of it.”
Juliette Geron Gabriel Contribute to the preparation of reports.