Because to prevent these practices, the Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne adopted last October a decree imposing the closing of the doors of the shops in the event of use of heating or air conditioning. In the event of non-compliance with these provisions, the mayor may send the operator formal notice and then, following a period of three weeks, an administrative fine of a maximum amount of 750 euros.
The Bordeaux municipality prefers to start by reminding traders of the rules before sanctioning. “They will receive a signed letter from the mayor next week. It will also inform them that city agents and the municipal police will come to check,” warns Sandrine Jacotot. “We will not laugh. »
A phenomenon to qualify
Before casting opprobrium on Bordeaux merchants, it is necessary to qualify the extent of the phenomenon. First of all, in the streets Sainte-Catherine and Porte-Dijeaux, a majority of the stores keep their doors closed, found “Sud Ouest” in early February. Moreover, by talking with the merchants whose door remained open, we realize that most of them do not heat their store, or very rarely. This is the case of the Heat store. “We turned on the heating for two weeks when it was very cold. Otherwise, we don’t put it on, we play the game of consumption, ”says a seller. According to him, when the doors are closed, customers do not dare to enter.
Same argument in a lingerie store, where “it’s the management that forces me to leave the door open”. On the Promod side, “we didn’t even ask ourselves the question of the drop in the number of visitors to our shops when we asked them to close the doors: it’s a legal obligation, it’s not to be discussed”, slice Isabelle Léon-Schröder, brand communication manager. “In 2023, no one can neglect ecology anymore. »
At Jack & Jones and Benetton, they justify themselves by “leaves that are too heavy for the customers to handle”. “To deal with this problem, we have implemented an intermittent heating system. The store only heats three times a day for a maximum of one hour,” adds Antoine Launay, from Benetton.
No door, no heating
Finally, one last size criterion must enter the equation: the absence of a door. This is particularly the case for the stores located near the Victory. At Free Mode, for example, the gaping opening of this clothing store catches the eye. The employees explain that they never turn on the heating. They also work in down jackets. “Heating is too expensive anyway,” complains Nicolas Weng, the manager.
The giant Mango on rue Sainte-Catherine does not have a door either and, for the moment, the store is wide open. But the heating is cut off because of a general breakdown. “We will soon be closing for three months for works. We are going to install doors at the entrance,” explains the manager. Installing doors is expensive. If a multinational like Mango can afford this luxury, this is not the case for all traders. “It would cost tens of thousands of euros to do the work. It is impossible for us! In addition, in this street, you can’t do everything, there are rules to follow, ”explains an employee of Muy Mucho, a decoration shop without a door. For Sandrine Jacotot, the rule is simple: “No door? No heating or air conditioning! »