Between 2020 and 2022, thirty stores closed rue de Rivoli in Paris and only thirteen returned to commercial activity. This concerns the Marais because if three-quarters of this axis are located in the 1st arrondissement, it starts in the 4th arrondissement, at the Saint-Paul metro station. “We can only see the closures. Rue de Rivoli is gradually emptying of its businesses just as the neighborhood is gradually emptying of its inhabitants,” laments Emmanuel Duprat, president of the Association for the Defense of Residents and the Animation of the Les Halles District (ADRAQH ), in an article from actu.fr.
For this association, which represents local residents and traders, the fault lies with the City of Paris which favors bicycles and other soft mobility. Several traders interviewed by Le Marais Mood make the same diagnosis: a certain clientele, coming from the west of Paris, can no longer go to Paris as in the past. At the time, it was accessed via the quays by car (it is still possible, on the high quays) and left towards Place de la Concorde via rue de Rivoli. This “loop” is nothing more than a distant memory. The roads on the banks closed in September 2016, which limited the possibilities of accessing the district and rue de Rivoli, in 2020, after confinement.
Another problem, according to a street merchant (whose business is located in the 4th arrondissement): “Lower public attendance depreciates the value of commercial leases. However, the resale of our lease represents an important part of our calculation for retirement,” he explains. Will he vote for the outgoing municipality in the next municipal election? " In your opinion ? “, he replies with a grin.
Text: Katia Barillot
13.01.23
