The sound of clinking wine glasses fills the air this summer evening, where many consumers are seated on the terrace sipping a glass of chilled rosé while picking at plates of cheese in front of cafes, restaurants and grocery stores all around Place d’Aligre, in the Bastille district, in Paris.
Waiters weave through the crowd, their trays laden with Aperol spritz and oysters, as people flock to meet their friends there. Children play wolf, rushing to their parents’ table to steal a fry. After ordering drinks, tourists pose for Instagram photos that are sure to make people envious when they return to their country.
The evening customers crowd together, tightly against each other, on the hundreds of chairs brought out earlier in the afternoon. But their time is limited: in fact, all the furniture brought out to welcome them must be put away before 10 p.m., in accordance with very strict regulations, introduced after the Covid-19 epidemic, taking into account everyone’s interests, those who benefit from the places and those for whom it constitutes a nuisance.
A “total” change
Paris has long been known for its lively cafés. The city had 13,000 outdoor terraces installed on sidewalks and squares in the years before the pandemic. But thousands of additional outdoor spaces have emerged thanks to the emergency plan put in place to relieve businesses affected by the various confinements linked to Covid. The system was made permanent by a 2021 municipal decree taken by the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, which authorizes summer terraces to reappear each year from April to November.
As a result, areas of Paris that were once unoccupied, or even a little gloomy, have been transformed into lively destinations, with an economic mini-boom to boot.
Place d’Aligre is one of these places. Virtually deserted the night before 2020, it has undergone an astonishing transformation.
“The places have changed completely”, explains Laurent Zennadi, the manager of Chez Camille, a family café once frequented mainly in the morning and at lunchtime by customers of the Aligre market, a food market founded in 1779 and located nearby. “No one came here in the evening. Now, we see the arrival of
2023-09-09 03:00:35
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