To avoid having to compensate for the lack of public toilets, this bistro made a radical choice

The toilets now have a QR code at the Bistrot de l'Horloge. FREE MIDI – MIKAEL ANISSET

Un imposant portique pour l'accès aux toilettes. MIDI LIBRE – MIKAEL ANISSET

Dans la ville de Nîmes, le Bistrot de l'Horloge souligne le manque d'équipements publics en terme de sanitaires.

At the Bistrot de l'Horloge, the toilets are for those who consume! Tired of seeing lines of people pass through the door of the establishment all day long just to relieve themselves, the managers of this historic address in the city center have opted for a radical solution. For several months, the toilets have only been accessible to people with a QR code, provided by the establishment. 

"Before, people would go shopping at Les Halles, then when passing through the city center, they would stop at our toilets, explains Nathalie Faggianelli, who manages the' #39;establishment with her husband Régis. So we set up a system with a QR Code. When you are a customer and you want to go to the toilet, you ask the waiter, he gives you a QR Code and you can go."

Imposing portico

In the establishment there are several toilets, two of which have access for people with reduced mobility. One of the accesses, accessible from the square, has been equipped with an imposing portico. It is only by applying the QR code that it can be unlocked.

At the Bistrot de l'Horloge, of course, we don't hold back. "If there is an emergency and it's kindly asked, of course we can open! But often, it's without request and you have to clean up after it." 

The initiative of the Bistrot de l'Horloge reveals the lack of public toilets in Nîmes. In 2019, the city had nine (1), including only two in the Ecusson. According to toilettepublices.com, today there are 10, or 0.66 public toilets per 10,000 inhabitants, while the best-equipped French cities have up to 5 per 10,000. inhabitants.

Chronic underequipment

The problem, however, is not purely Nîmes and is not new. In 2014, when asked about the lack of places to go to the toilet for people suffering from chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, the Ministry of Social Affairs recognized that municipalities in France are under-equipped in terms of public toilets while the needs will increase with the aging of the population.

(1) Despite our requests, the City was unable to communicate the updated list this Monday.