The agglomeration of Angers (Maine-et-Loire) is no exception. Guinguettes are springing up everywhere, along the water. Once considered old-fashioned, they have now become fashionable places again.
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It is difficult, however, to list them all. “We have difficulty identifying them because there is no name guinguette in NAF codes [la nomenclature des activités économiques productives élaborées par l’Insee]informed us in June 2023 in our columns Bernard Boutboul, president of Gira, a consultancy firm on the out-of-home food consumption market in France. According to the INSEE classification, they are listed in the category restaurant, just like McDonald’s. »
Have a drink and a bite to eat
Most often located outdoors – like their ancestors – and at the water’s edge, people come here today more for a drink and a bite to eat with family or friends than to dance.
This is the case with Isabelle. At 57, this mother of four is “a regular at taverns”. It’s Alexis, his son, who says it. Sitting at a table at Héron Carré, the two are accompanied by Margaux and Sarah, 31 years old, twin sisters and daughters of Isabelle.
“The guinguette spirit”
In the sun, the thermometer exceeds 30 °C in the afternoon of this Wednesday, June 26. Mother and children have opted for a table in the shade, protected by a large tree, facing the Maine. Immediately, Isabelle rents “the guinguette spirit”. But what is this “guinguette spirit”?
“The tranquility, the nature side, at the water’s edge…”, begins the fifty-year-old. She continues: “People are simple, exchanges are easier. And then, it’s intergenerational.” His son Alexis gets into gear. “Bars often have a target: young people, the rich, etc. he asks. There, there is more social diversity. »
“And then, we’re not on top of each other. For families with children, it’s more pleasant,” appreciates Sarah. Isabelle, the mother, finds that it is easier this way “to bring your dog outside”. Alexis talks about the cultural programming, often rich, with several activities per week for certain taverns.
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“Nicer to be facing the Maine rather than in the city center”
Listening to them, the pleasant setting serves as a common denominator. An environment “clean”, “attractive”, “bucolic” or ” environmentally friendly “. To the point of being less careful about what they find on the plate?
« Non, admits Alexis. We tend to stay longer than in a bar, sometimes up to three or four hours. So the food supply is important. » Sarah, her younger sister, continues: “Between two taverns, I will go where the food is best. » They are looking for an offer « locale » et ” greedy “.
A little further away, sitting on a sofa weathered by time, Cléophée and Joan, 23 and 24 years old, have also opted for the tranquility of the Héron Carré rather than the buzz of the terraces in the city center. “We are in nature. It’s nicer to be facing the Maine rather than in the city center,” they blurt.
“I think there has been a bit of an awareness. People want to relax in nature. Here, we have the feeling that people are more relaxed, less stressed, says Pierre Asseray, 31, seasonal worker at Héron Carré. And then the guinguettes are only open in the summer, or almost. They are associated with good weather, holidays… It pleases.
