her street is closed, this shopkeeper “punished”

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The Festival of Lights attracts millions of visitors each year who take advantage of the numerous illuminations and fill the shops during the four days of festivities in Lyon. All? No. Ana Carolina, artisan merchant from the 1st arrondissement, is “punished” by two barriers which prevent visitors from crossing its street.

A discovery in anger

Ana Carolina set up her Émaillémoi boutique in October 2023 between rue Sainte-Catherine and place des Terreaux, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon. The shopkeeper has everything done to open on time and take advantage of the Festival of Lights to sell your handmade jewelry.

A cold shower for the enameller, the first evening of the festivities, discovering at 6 p.m. that the portion of rue Romarin on which she has set up is quite simply closed to the public during the four evenings of the festivities. This, for reasons of security and accessibility to emergency services and people with reduced mobility.

“The shops were full and I, I was punished. Right at the start of the activity and when I had done everything to be there. I was impatiently waiting for that date, I cried all evening. I had planned to work later, I was very angry,” she recalls.

“I gave up”

Ana Carolina tried to meet with other affected traders, to no avail. Those on rue Puits-Gaillots, closed along its entire length, are mainly restaurateurs who rely on reservations and the lifting of barriers at midnight to make their numbers.

I'm just a little designer. I went to town hall, I called everywhere, they passed the buck each time. Together, we could have made a request, written, but I am alone. I gave up, I don't have enough weight.

There is reason to be frustrated: if the barrier was placed two meters furtherthe security system would be maintained while allowing access to its small business. “Last year, a kind police officer let a few customers through and I was able to make some sales! I know I would make a nice figure… I would at least like people to be able to see my window. »

The trader forced to find another job

Especially since this year, for the 2024 edition of the Festival of Lights, the security system will be put in place even earlier, from 5 p.m. “I won’t even be able to open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., during my usual hours,” she laments.

Ana Carolina is forced to find an alternative. “When they close the street, I’m going to leave. I found a job in catering to at least try to compensate what I'm not going to gain here. I'm going to work elsewhere because I can't work in my own business. »

“I never received the slightest information, the slightest letter to tell us how it would go. Not a single note to warn us, neither last year nor this year. » Resigned, the forty-year-old does not feel “absolutely not supported” by the municipality.

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