“I cried in my truck”: the dismay of the traders of the Esplanade, in Montpellier, before the nine-month closure for works

Les professionnels de l’Esplanade espèrent être aidés. Financièrement déjà, et avoir plus d’informations. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Les travaux repartent sur l’esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle. Le manège est démonté. Les kiosques fermeront ce dimanche 15 septembre au soir et les bars n’auront plus de terrasse. Réouverture en juin prochain. C’est long.

Don't look for the merry-go-round anymore, it's gone. Dismantled. And starting Sunday, all the kiosks, food and florists alike, will have folded up shop. For the bars and restaurants (Chez Boris, café de l'Esplanade, the White cat, la Cantine d'Adrien) on the boulevard, the situation is somewhat different: the establishments will be able to use their interiors… but without a terrace. All for nine months. Until next June.

1. Bars and restaurants: no compensation commission?

A long, very long time for these professionals. “We are taking it very badly,confide Gérard and Monique Bénézeth, at the head of the café de l’Esplanade (him since 1999, his family since 1952).This gives us a very short 2024 season… With the previous work, these last two years, we have experienced unbelievable deficits." 74 000 € deficit in 2022, 46 000 € in 2023. Very reduced, the next two years will be of the same ilk. So hiring is an illusion. Monique emphasizes her husband's 73 years. Gérard confirms: “It's getting very complicated.”

Their neighbor, Alexandre Caron, owner of Chez Boris, speaks of a mixture “of anxiety, of incomprehension, of dismay. The work, the beautification, if it has to be done, ok. But since the first year of construction, we haven't had anything positive. On the contrary. Before, we had the yellow vests, whose clashes took place on our terraces, we had Covid, we had the fences… The whole time they were in place; we didn't work. And we have credits. The fountains? I had to put up a sign to say “no swimsuits allowed” in my establishment. Children came to the toilets naked and waiters had altercations with homeless people who came to wash themselves on the water jets." The establishment, which had 20 employees before Covid, now has 10.

So helpless, all these professionals also say they feel « abandoned ». They would like to be better supported, better informed. And compensated. “Why is there a compensation commission for the tramway and not for us ?”

2. The merry-go-round: “In my truck, I cried”

“We don't have any writing. Many things are said orally, regret Ève and David Dubief, owners of the merry-go-round. Once, we are told something. The next time, we are told something else." And there, in addition, they have the impression "of being ousted". At the last meeting, this Tuesday, they were told that the “square forain” concession, which, in the new Esplanade, will take place behind the tourist office, includes the merry-go-round and the carousel together… They will therefore not be able to claim it.

“When I got back to my truck on Tuesday, I cried”,admits Eve. Already in place at the zoo, they were offered to install their brand new ride ("at the request of the town hall"), in Antigone, place Paul-Bec. "With an activity like duck fishing." That's 250,000 euros for the new ride and 60,000 euros the adjoining chalet. “We have just been told that there may be no more duck fishing”, they worry. They do not despair. At the zoo, Fanny Dombre-Coste, then deputy mayor, had found a solution for them.

3. Food kiosks, “forced to lay off”

As for the kiosks, there too, the worry is latent. More or less present. For Fouad Khaled, who works on the two establishments on the Fabre Museum side: “the concession is coming to an end, it's legal, the town hall has the right". He's losing money, but he hopes to compensate a little. He accepted the town hall's proposal to set up a food truck in front of the tourist office.

A possibility that Ludovic Chopineaux, owner of the first kiosk, on the Comédie side, quickly dismissed. Not profitable enough for him and impossible to install his two employees there. "I have to fire them, there wouldn't be enough business. Firing them also means writing them a check. My cook, he's been working with me for decades, I have to pay 7,000 euros to fire him, it's the law. And at the same time, I have to close. And I'm not entitled to anything.”

To get by, he thinks about another deal. Will he apply next June in the new kiosks ? "We'll see. For now, we don't know anything. Except that they will be smaller. So if it's to have three times smaller for three times more expensive…", he says, also dejected.

4. Florists' kiosks are moving

There remain the florist kiosks. The greengrocer and the pretzels have been closed for several months. They are not part of the upcoming projects on the Esplanade. Laurent Albouy, a florist on the Comédie for twenty years, is preparing his move this week. Sorry, his moves. On Monday, he will be in a Christmas chalet next to the tourist office. Until January. And from January to June, he will take up position in front of the Pavillon populaire. Before, he hopes, finding his concession in the future kiosks. So too bad if he loses 1 m of linear space, or 20% of the total surface area. In September, he will be there. For now, he makes no secret of it. "I've been here for twenty years, it's a bit of a pinch…"

Also read: IN PICTURES. Discover the new design of the kiosks on the Esplanade de Montpellier before their demolition

“The tramway benefits from a DUP!”

Laurent Nison, deputy mayor in charge of major works and beautification, responds to the concerns of the Esplanade traders.

What are the objectives and timetable for the work??

The construction site starts on Monday for a landing in June 2025. We hope for June 21, but we can't move forward, there are always uncertainties. The goal is to make the Paul-Boulet and Tassigny alleys as beautiful as the central alley that everyone agrees is a success.

On a daily basis, however, professionals mention problems…

There are always special cases. This esplanade has found new life, it is magnificent and everyone is happy about it. Afterwards, of course, there are misuses. But we wanted to move from a place where people pass by to a place where people stay.

Why is there no compensation, like for the tramway??

But it is not at all the same type of work. Tram line 5 benefits from a DUP! A declaration of public utility. But the Esplanade traders have benefited from exemption from terrace fees for 2022, 2023, 2024 and certainly 2025. We have also adapted the schedule so that they can systematically work in the summer. This is a major constraint. And I also suffer from hearing about a lack of information. Since the beginning, we have communicated a lot with them, made proposals. And we will continue to do so.

I subscribe to read the rest