Toulouse: crime forces relocation of historic kiosks
Six heritage structures in central Toulouse are to be dismantled and reinstalled elsewhere due to trafficking and petty crime that have made them commercially unviable.
Toulouse: crime forces relocation of historic kiosks
The city council of Toulouse has decided the fate of six small art-deco style structures situated on the François-Mitterrand esplanade, in close proximity to the metro station and facing the Fnac and McDonald's storefronts. These structures are to be dismantled and reinstalled at other locations, as ambient crime has made sustained commercial operation impossible.
Thierry Sentous, municipal councillor responsible for heritage, indicated that numerous attempts had been made to revitalise these spaces. The "Les Baraques" outlet, launched in 2023, eventually closed a few months later due to insufficient customer numbers. The elected official explicitly linked this failure to the criminal activity that prevails in the area: drug dealers and ill-intentioned individuals use the kiosks as shelters, occupying the ledges and roofs. These conditions render any commercial activity "incompatible" with the necessary security.
The local authority has nevertheless ruled out any destruction of these structures, which are protected under the supplementary inventory of historical monuments. Their dismantling will be carried out with care, element by element, before reassembly at another location. A preferred option would be Rue Ozenne, next to the Palais-Royal gardens, following the same principle as an existing kiosk on the Allées Frédéric-Mistral.
The works are envisaged around 2027–2028. Each relocation entails substantial expenses, amounting to several tens of thousands of euros per structure. The municipality could also revise its plans if the opening of the new Fnac, scheduled for the end of 2026 in the former Variétés theatre, were to alter the social character of the district.
Source: La Dépêche du Midi
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)