In Toulouse, since the ban on heated terraces, customers take refuge inside cafes
Since spring, heated terraces are prohibited. In Toulouse, the measure seems well applied and includes despite some divergent sounds.
You’ve probably noticed it when you go for a drink in the city center: customers are becoming rarer on the terraces. Since April 1, outdoor heating is no longer allowed. This is the case in Toulouse as in other French cities. The measure resulting from the Climate Law was introduced to limit energy waste. A quick tour of the center of Toulouse shows that the measure seems to be well applied. It must be said that in the event of a breach, the fine is steep: the fine is 1,500 euros and even 3,000 euros in the event of a repeat offense.
An observation confirmed by Christophe Alvès, elected to the town hall of Toulouse in charge of the public domain: “To date, our services have not observed the use of heating outdoors during the day. However, municipal police officers noted, Wednesday evening, an offense on the terrace of an establishment which used this type of heating. The manager has been fined. Overall, on the feeling that the law is respected, the opinion has changed. Many of our fellow citizens agree with this development. »
People who notice a breach of the regulations can contact Allo Toulouse.
Heaters turned into lamps
The Florida and the pizzeria bar Le Bellini were the subject of a call in November… Wrongly. “We have transformed the heaters on our terraces into LED lamps, which allows us to bring in points of light in the evening,” explains a room manager. Many customers sit under what they think are heaters before realizing they are not heating. To compensate, we lost plaids and we put on windbreakers. »
The Florida is not the only one to make blankets available to customers. At the Carbet d’Oc or at the Choucou café, for example, this has been the case for a few weeks or a few days. A palliative which will probably not make it possible to compensate for the drop in customers. “We have a lot fewer reservations than last year,” says Juliette, manager of Carbet d’Oc. “Where I had four seasonal workers on the terrace, I only have two or three left”, also testifies the Florida room manager.
“We do not have the choice”
However, the measure seems to be understood by a majority of restaurateurs interviewed. “When we see the energy crisis that we are experiencing, the scorching summer that we spent, I think that everyone understands that we have no choice”, notes Olivier Bouscatel, Toulouse president of the national group of independent. Philippe Belot, vice-president of the UMIH on the other hand, thinks quite differently. For him, this prohibition is an additional constraint. “It’s greenwashing!” This measure has no ecological impact but a great impact on attendance. This is a false solution that will still attack a profession in the woods. »
According to the energy specialist and co-founder of the NégaWatt association Thierry Salomon, “a 75 m2 terrace heated from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. for four months nevertheless emitted more than 13 tonnes of CO2 in a single winter, as much as a new sedan traveling 122,000 km, 3 times around the Earth. »