Toulouse: the anger of some cafe owners against market nights
A group of cafe owners sends a letter to the mayor of Toulouse to express their anger and indignation towards the night markets in Toulouse. In particular that of Victor-Hugo. He wishes to return to the initial nocturne with enhancement of the terroir. Reportage.
After a first outburst of anger in March, a collective of “scorned restaurateurs” decided to send a letter to mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc, specifying his grievances against the Toulouse market nights. “These nocturnes, i.e. 4 evenings a year, in each of the city’s three markets, should be called “ferias”, a more appropriate designation. Many of us professionals feel a sense of injustice against the non-respect of the rules (noise, sale of strong alcohol without IV license, privatization of public space, etc.) of these “ferias”, while some suffer the end of covid terrace extensions. Do you know that establishments make tens of thousands of euros in a “feria” evening? More than the majority of café owners in a month. Either we return to the initial night or we ask for the same authorizations ”.
“The new measures adopted give a real identity to the nightlife”
President of the traders of the Victor-Hugo market, Gérard Calvayrac, wants to ignore these proposals. And simply remarks: “These anonymous restaurateurs stigmatize four perfectly specific evenings a year. These moments boost the activity of the city, delight the majority of local residents and enhance the local gastronomy. Why not show initiative in turn? “.
Pierre-André is the manager of Chelala, an establishment rue du Rempart Villeneuve in Victor-Hugo, particularly stigmatized by the collective. He tries to understand this anger: “When the nights resumed in 2021, after the covid, the restaurants on the street came together to form La Callecita and adopt homogeneous music and prices during the nights. One way to avoid overflows and one-upmanship from one counter to another as at the beginning. These measures give the nocturnes a real identity and a real improvement. To deny it is simply dishonest.”
“We want a return to a real nightlife”
This collective says it and repeats it: it wants to return to a real nightlife with a promotion of market exhibitors and local products: “Either we go back to this formula, or we create a collective by asking for the same authorizations, or finally we attack for unfair competition with in particular the privatization of the rue du Rempart which becomes, we repeat, an open-air discotheque. It is inconceivable”.