Toulouse: market ushers suspected of corruption, the town hall will change the rules
An “excess of zeal” of the ushers last Sunday on the Toulouse market of Saint-Aubin relaunched the rumor: traders accuse him of receiving bribes. The town hall of Toulouse will change the rules for allocating places.
“They are mobsters! “It is in these terms that a trader describes certain ushers, in charge of installing itinerant vehicles which occupy the public domain during open markets. According to him, “they regularly collect bribes! »Creation of a location, extension of another… the reasons for arrangements would be multiple.
This rumor has been circulating on the Toulouse markets for many years. The town hall suspected some of its agents of pouring into this practice. The municipal police seized the subject about a year ago, without succeeding in gathering the slightest evidence. The temptation to accept the bribe can be very strong, but the turf war that traders engage in with each other often results in misinformation…”
Only one case had been the subject of a decision. In 2019, after an internal investigation, an usher suspected of being involved was – “as a precaution” – reclassified in another service, far from daily cash exchanges.
Last Sunday, the rumor of these small arrangements returned to the carpet. A handful of ushers handed out warnings to traders in the Saint-Aubin market. In the very near future, according to the Capitol, the collection of the right of place will no longer be done by hand. As the law imposes on local authorities, the dematerialization of payments for their services will be proposed.
Street traders interpret the warnings they have received as a “rebellion” by ushers against their management. “They can no longer take bribes. The situation annoys them. They put pressure on us so that we don’t denounce them, ”believes a flying trader.
No complaints filed
Questioned, the town hall of Toulouse denies these accusations: “This change in collection will also have the effect of protecting ushers from these rumors and offering guarantees of good practice to traders. »
In reality, the warnings issued last week have another explanation. For almost two years, the markets have been impacted by the Covid. In this difficult context, the city council had voted to make the right to the premises free and the sanitary measures had to modify the criteria for installing bans on the markets. “Today, the return to normal has not become easy, habits have been taken”, explains the municipality.
Jean-Jacques Bolzan, deputy mayor, in charge of the markets, after noticing certain abuses by visiting several markets, asked the services to remind more to publish the regulations and the decrees issued to traders and producers.
The town hall of Toulouse indicates that if, however, traders have been victims or witnesses of such practices, the community calls on them to file a complaint or file an alert. To date, no alert or complaint has been filed.