Since the beginning of the 20th century, INSEE has recorded 1,617 drinking establishments in Haute-Loire. Not all of them are open today: the same National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies has 283 as of March 31.
The history of the INSEE Sirene directory does not allow us to go back that far in time, but let’s still go back 16 years. In 2008, 44% of the municipalities in the department had at least one bar. At the time, Brioude (12 outlets), Le Puy-en-Velay (42) and Yssingeaux (13) alone hosted more than a quarter of the bistros in Haute-Loire. Even if Craponne-sur-Arzon, Sainte-Florine (6), Langeac (5) or even Saugues (4) managed to do well.
Today, the situation seems to have improved, with 12% more bars (an increase which mainly benefits municipalities between 1,000 and 10,000 inhabitants) for a total of 283 drinking establishments in 2024. There are not even never had so many zincs in sixteen years. The simplification of the regime for drinking establishments at the end of 2015 or the possibility of creating new IV licenses under conditions between 2019 and 2022 in municipalities with less than 3,500 inhabitants can explain this general increase over the past ten years.
However, only around 80 outlets are recorded in municipalities with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants (Haute-Loire has nearly 200). And despite 9 now counted in Langeac, the establishments are mainly distributed in the east of Haute-Loire (Sainte-Sigolène, Bas-en-Basset, Monistrol-sur-Loire, etc.). Conversely, since 2008, the Ponots have lost almost one bar in ten. The department is used to variations: over the last four decades, the year with the most closures recorded (51!) dates back to 1987 and that with the most creations (42) to 2022. Note that, always according to According to INSEE, around thirty municipalities currently no longer have any zinc.
At the head of your favorite bars still open today, there are, when the gender of the owner is known, 93 men for 43 women. But of the 1,617 drinking establishments in Haute-Loire, it was women who managed the most zincs (644 compared to 519 men). Establishments which have a lifespan of ten years on average, one year more than at the national level. The record for longevity goes to a café in Saint-Vert, open from 1961 to 2017, i.e. for 56 years.
Nicolas Certainly
