“It’s as if we were writing “Run away !” “ For the consultant David Lestoux, the road signs indicating “barred road” in black on an orange background, installed at the entrance to the markets, appear to be pushbacks. “Entry marketing is deplorable. More welcoming signage would reduce the restrictive image that certain markets may have with users ”, he believes.
In most towns, the market is held in a square usually devoted to parking or in streets closed for the occasion to traffic. This ephemeral pedestrianization, although perfectly predictable, is not always well accepted.
In Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze), on Saturday, the main market day, “Shuttles leave the relay car parks every quarter of an hour, the day’s underground parking costs 1 euro, in addition to thirty minutes free. But there are always people who moan. What more can we do? “, asks Jean-Luc Souquières, municipal councilor. In Périgueux, parking difficulties are identified as a weak point by traders, according to a study conducted by the company LA !, directed by David Lestoux.
Parisian particularism
And yet this weekly pedestrianization defeats a preconceived idea: in the city center, market day is both the busiest and the one when motorists find it the most complicated to park their car. “In Aix-en-Provence, the market increases the number of visitors to the city center by 35%. It is an element of attractiveness ”, notes Monique Rubin, at the National Federation of Trade Unions of French Market Traders.
Contrary to what is practiced in most cities, in Paris, stalls have been installed for a long time on sidewalks, central medians and cycle paths, as if it was important not to subtract from space for vehicle traffic or parking. As a result, there are few Parisian markets where customers can access a café terrace without crossing a street. The elected officials concerned say they are prepared to change the occupation of space. “This is one of the possible developments”, says Olivia Polski, deputy in charge of trade, while her counterpart in transport, David Belliard, assures that he “There are plans to rethink the entire public space around certain markets by the end of the term of office”, in 2026.