a town in Yvelines has lost a “mythical” canteen

Behind its curtain, there hasn't been a soul living for several months, not a glass or a plate lying on the tables. THE city ​​center de Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines) saw one of its most emblematic addresses close its doors in the fall of 2024.

A “mythical” place for many generations, “an institution” for others, “iconic”, even sums up Nathalie Aujay, deputy mayor for commercial development, events and tourism.

A golden age that belongs to the past

Torpedoed by finances at half mast and the lack of customers, increasingly rare, Le Régent was placed in judicial liquidation by the Versailles commercial court on October 15, 2024. The brasserie, which became a pizzeria after changing hands for the last time in 2011, had been in great difficulty for several years already.

The establishment had been declared in cessation of payments in April 2023. This means that its cash flow was no longer sufficient to pay its debts. This financial situation has never been able to be reversed. To the great dismay of those who experienced its golden age.

A fashionable brasserie in the last century

On social networks, many were moved of the closure of the Régent, where people flocked in particular in the last century to have dinner or a drink, on weekends, before going to burn the dancefloor of the nightclubs. “It was the meeting before going to the club at the Alligator, it was great,” remembers this former regular, for example.

It was “the most exclusive establishment in the 70s”we can also read. “We spent afternoons there drinking their good hot chocolate in winter,” this ex-customer still delights. “So many memories when I skipped classes”, “a hell of a brasserie, too bad it ended like this”, we also note in the middle of the comments.

It is also near the Regent that people traditionally gather to celebrate big victories. Those of the French football team at the 1998 World Cup, of Algeria at the 2019 African Cup of Nations, or even the epic at the 2022 World Cup of the selection of Morocco, whose community of nationals is important in Mantes-la-Jolie.

“We need something cool”

The question offuture of commerce, which has lost much of its luster, is already being asked. And many people are worried about seeing yet another kebab take over. With its right to an outdoor terrace and its patio, Le Régent has assets to attract desire and bounce back into other hands. “The business is sold,” informs the assistant Nathalie Aujay.

The municipality has already made it known that it will “surely” exercise its right to preempt. “We were taken by surprise,” continues the elected official. We learned of the judicial liquidation late. We have not yet met the project leaders. But for such an iconic establishment, at the entrance to the city, you need something nice. So you have to have a hand. »

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