European summit in Toulouse: Compans Caffarelli completely closed this Wednesday
The Compans district was completely cordoned off and almost deserted until 7 p.m. this Wednesday in Toulouse due to a European summit.
From Héraklès, Saint-Pierre, Jeanne d’Arc, St Sernin or on the canal side several hundred CRS, mobile gendarmes, police officers on duty were circulating or waiting, not to mention the police in civilian clothes.
The device was impressive, the prefecture did not represent any figures but sources mentioned more than 300 members of the police and security forces mobilized. In front of Compans, around sixty Peugeot vehicles with flashing lights were waiting for their respective delegations.
Arnaud Bernard, orange zone, free of dealers for the day?
You had to show your credentials to enter the two security zones set up for the arrival of the 27 European Ministers responsible for Space and the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron. Two perimeters were in effect: orange and red.
In Compans, the boulevard was empty, all accesses blocked. “There are more police officers than inhabitants” joked Mickael a resident of Arnaud Bernard “even if it’s the usual vibe of the neighborhood since the town hall killed her, he’s dead now”beside Djilali rolls a joint and abounds “It’s Macron who is coming, he’s the boss” he laughs. Bernard, a local merchant, arrived much earlier to open his shop “we see a few people because everyone has to go through the square with the closures, we will do the accounts this evening to find out if we have made a number”.
Does the presence of the police slow down the trafficking of narcotics and cigarettes – a specialty of the district -? “It prevents resellers from providing their small sachets” car “Here it’s awful and I don’t regret that the town hall can finally give a good image to this little neighborhood which was fabulous at the time” testifies Daniel, a resident.
A few businesses that remained open in the red zone
Not all businesses have closed in the red zone, Stéphane Rup, manager of Grand Zinc, welcomed a few police officers and firefighters for morning coffee but “we won’t have anyone at noon, except perhaps a few journalists”. He did not leave the terrace in accordance with prefectural directives and the town hall of Toulouse advised him to ” do not open ” But “We have to work hard especially in this period” he blurted out to us.
At Cactus, a bar with a reputation as a “cops and thugs” bar, the kitchen remained closed, but the employee at the bar was preparing the croques monsieur for the gendarmerie reservists storming her counter. Zinc where Jean-Claude, who lives behind the Japanese garden presented us his pass necessary to move “an EDF bill”. Here it is red zone.