00:00Come back to France now, but for something a little less politics-related, here in Paris,
00:04starting today, the city's terraces and outdoor dining areas can stay open until midnight.
00:10We're going to talk about this more with Solange Mougin, who joins me on the set.
00:14Hi, Solange.
00:15Hi, Denise.
00:16So, just to start, why did Paris decide to extend these hours?
00:18Well, quite simply to allow people to faire la fête, or to party, to celebrate the summer,
00:25and above all, the Olympic Games.
00:28Paris' city hall announced this past spring that it was going to do something special
00:33for the Games in regard to one of the major emblems of French society, les terrasses.
00:38It decided that starting July 1st, today, that the city's cafes, bars and restaurants
00:43could keep their summer outdoor eating and drinking areas open until midnight, instead
00:48of 10pm.
00:49So, for cafe and restaurant owners, this is great news.
00:52As the 10pm cut-off, well, it has often been a source of a lot of frustration.
00:58When?
00:59That is, when the curfew is respected.
01:05The 10 o'clock rule was a bit difficult, to have to explain to clients that they had to
01:09leave at 10pm.
01:13With the closing of terraces at 10pm, we have the difficulty of not being able to do a second
01:18seating for diners, or even drinks on the terrace.
01:22It creates profits that aren't trivial.
01:25Now, this until-midnight, Cinderella-like extension runs until the end of the Paralympic
01:32Games on Sunday, September 8th.
01:35It is, the city says, a way for Parisians and tourists to basically reap the benefits
01:40of the Games by going to a match, and then after those matches, being able to have a
01:44joie de vivre moment, or have a meal, a drink, al fresco.
01:49So, Solange, tell us a bit more about the history of terraces.
01:53How did they come to be so associated with Paris and France in general?
01:57Well, it comes, the Latin term, it comes from the Latin term terra sous, which means earth
02:03or terre in French, and the term, of course, initially referred to the flat land used in
02:08agriculture.
02:10But as for the habit of sitting and having a drink or a café in the sun, other nations
02:14like Italy and Spain, they also have strong terrace cultures, which stem actually from
02:19the influence of the Ottoman Empire, just like coffee, which is often associated with
02:24these terraces.
02:26This is the case as well in France.
02:28But in Paris, where the climate is a bit cooler, it's thought that terraces really got their
02:32wings of sorts when Louis XIV redesigned the city, first as rented out spaces along wooden
02:38boardwalks that were actually covering pits, and then as a place to admire the surrounding
02:42countryside along Paris's exterior areas.
02:48Now, these terraces are at once a place where you observe the world, but are also observed.
02:54It has much to do with Parisians' relationship to the street.
02:59And since the 17th century, in happy times, but also in politically fraught ones, you
03:03could even say right now, but in very serious ones as well, like World War II, the city's
03:09terraces, they have stayed constant.
03:11They've been places where people talk, they catch up, they take a moment to reflect, redesigned
03:16the world, as the French often say.
03:19It is this bistro culture that the French, but also visitors, are so attached to, be
03:24it in Paris or across the country.
03:29Rain or shine, we're always sitting on the terrace.
03:31When we get cold, we ask for a blanket from the owner.
03:36It's not raining.
03:37Even if it's cold, we'll be here because I smoke.
03:40With the open air ambience, we're chilling.
03:43We need it.
03:44We missed it.
03:45Today, people want to go out and be together, to have fun.
03:49Of course, it does create noise and a bother for those that want to stay calm.
03:53OK, so Solange, keeping the terraces open to midnight is great for many people, except
03:59for those who perhaps live just above the café.
04:01I mean, noise has already been a problem in French cities, and especially with outdoor
04:06terraces and especially in Paris.
04:08So what kind of problems is that going to cause?
04:11The uptick really happened because of a shift during COVID.
04:15To help cafés and restaurants, the city allowed them to take over two parking spots in front
04:21of their businesses, as well as one to the left and one to the right, after COVID.
04:26Now, these terraces éphémères and estivales, or ephemeral and summer terraces, they were
04:31such a success that the city made this an annual thing.
04:35But on the condition that these shops and restaurants have a permit and they pay a rental
04:41fee for these temporary spots.
04:43This is during the summer, warmer months.
04:46This year, the season kicked off April 1st for some 4,000 of these summer terraces, and
04:50it runs until the end of October.
04:52Now, such moves are part of a bigger, larger quest by the city to make Paris more agreeable,
04:57walkable, less car-focused.
05:00But as you mentioned, it's also created a number of noise complaints.
05:04Over 20,000 complaints were made last year because of these temporary terraces.
05:10Thousands of fines were also issued.
05:12So it's still very much a work in progress between those that want to sleep, that may
05:16live above the terraces, and those who want to party.
05:19But one thing is for sure, the city wants Parisians and visitors to have fun during
05:24the games.
05:25And it's allowing bars that ask for permission for this to stay open all night long for the
05:29opening ceremony.
05:31So there are some wild times ahead.
05:33Oh, for sure.
05:34All right, Solange, thank you for that little breath of fresh air, stepping away from French
05:37politics there, talking about French terraces.
05:39Solange Mejean, thank you so much.
Comments