The offensive of the big cities against the “dark stores”

All it took was a tweet published in the middle of the weekend of August 15, when the political world traditionally takes a break, for most of the mayors of the big cities of France to unite against the government. At the heart of the matter, the “dark stores”, these places allocated to express delivery in the city center – “your shopping in a few minutes”, promises advertising. Suddenly, everyone feared that the executive would pass a text in mid-summer that would legalize ” fact ” in shops what they consider to be mini-warehouses, if the latter were equipped with a “collection point”.

Read also Article reserved for our subscribers The “dark stores”, these supermarkets without customers and entirely designed for online sales

However, in a context where everyone denounces the anarchic growth of this activity focused on delivery, the nuisances – societal, environmental, social – that go with it, and the lack of sufficient means to stem the phenomenon, it obviously goes badly. The official coup came from the Twitter account of Emmanuel Grégoire, the first deputy mayor of Paris. But the initial alert came from Villeurbanne (Rhône) and Lyon, where the services were the first to wince over the turn taken by the revision of two urban planning regulations. One concerns the ministerial decree of November 2016 which relates to “destinations” and “sub-destinations” of buildings.

An essential text, since it defines the categories (office, housing, trade, warehouse, etc.) in which each construction must be placed in a territory. However, the elected officials are alarmed, the document under study introduces into the law the possibility for dark stores to be considered as businesses. Faced with this revolt, Bercy and the Ministry of Housing have tried to calm down. Those are ” work documents “, “the consultation continues”, “local elected officials will be received at the start of the school year”, they insisted in the middle of the week, without much success. Suspecting the hand of the lobbies behind it and fearing a struggle for influence within the government between supporters of regulation and those more sensitive to innovation and job creation, whoever they may be, the mayors preferred hit higher.

“Contrary to what we want”

Six days later, a letter left for Matignon. This letter, dated August 19 and addressed to the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, has toured France. Paris, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux, Besançon, Strasbourg and Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) have signed. Alongside these leaders of left-wing communities and environmentalists, is Stéphane Beaudet, the mayor (Les Républicains, LR) of Evry-Courcouronnes and president of the Association of mayors of Ile-de-France, or even Patrick Ollier, President (LR) of the Métropole du Grand Paris. To the question of dark stores was added that of “dark kitchens”, these restaurants devoted to delivery.

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