businesses in the Elbeuvian basin still in great difficulty

The commerce Elbeuvien is in the worst shape. This is the harsh observation made by Arnaud Trépagny, who co-chairs with Wally Mizabi The Showcases of the country of Elbeuf, an association which has 117 members and represents the traders of the 11 municipalities of Elbeuf and its surroundings.

They are in ever more difficulty, to the point that in 2024, more than fifteen have definitively lowered the curtain.

The threat of shopping centers

According to Arnaud Trépagny, it is first and foremost a “national observation”. The political instability that reigns in the country “blocks consumers in their purchases” and they have “more need to save than to spend”, according to him.

But the drop in traffic to city centers is also caused by local factors, one of which is particularly impactful according to Arnaud Trépagny: the expansion of shopping centerswhich “extend over several tens of square meters”. In the viewfinder: those of Tourville-la-Rivière and Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf, which represent the bulk of the competition.

“We continue to market land for major brands. We consider this to be nonsense,” he explains. He believes that “this is not justified” because “the population is not increasing”. It is based on government figures which indicate an increase of only 4,000 inhabitants in two years, in the 71 municipalities of the Rouen Metropolis (500,703 in 2022 against 504,300 in 2024).

At the same time, a false idea circulates in the heads of consumers, according to him.

We need to get rid of the idea that stores are necessarily more expensive than supermarkets. You can see this by going there, it is not systematic.

He also recalls the social role that local shops play: “Social life takes place in city centers, but not in shopping centers,” insists the printer in Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf.

A dark future for 2025

The paid parking system, particularly in Elbeuf, is also singled out by Arnaud Trépagny, which he considers to be “an additional barrier” to access to the city center. He would like “one to two hours free” instead of the current 15 minutes.

A question debated with the municipalities, which he regularly alerts to the situation. “There is a reaction when we ask them, an attentive ear,” he concedes while remaining lucid: “But they are not magicians.”

Concerning the new year to come, the grounds for hope for an improvement in commercial life are slim, and the worst is even to be feared. Until summer 2025, modernization work of the gas network will be carried out in several streets of downtown Elbeuf, suggesting a lean period for traders.

“The six-month work period in Elbeuf scares us,” worries Arnaud Trépagny. “We are very worried because traders are already weakened and the year 2025 looks complicated. »

He continues: “We are reaching a moment of annoyance, traders are asking us to sound the alarm”, before concluding and warning: “All the lights are red”.

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.