[VIDEO] Works and redevelopment of Place Jasmin, Agen merchants are divided

Since the launch of work on Place Jasmin and the modulation of traffic directions and pedestrian crossings, there are two schools of thought among the shopkeepers of the square. Those who preferred to temporarily close like the Café Foy or the Radio City called to become a Jules & John and those who maintained their activity but who rail against the drop in turnover. Like Bruno Degroot manager of the press tobacconist Le Jasmin who shows a 50% drop in activity: “already 25% as soon as the directions of traffic were changed and another 25% when the work started in February” . For him, the temporary removal of parking spaces is detrimental: « We don’t come to my house to sit down like in a café, we park as close as possible, we come to buy something and we leave ». Moreover, the fact that the square is no longer a roundabout but an entrance to the boulevard, according to him will inevitably cause him to lose customers: « I wanted to talk to the mayor about it, but the project was anyway deed. We will see after the end of the works what to expect…”.

The neighboring baker Les Petits pains d’Hugo longs for parking spaces: « We only see people on foot ». For her too, a wait-and-see position on the sequence of events, “but it will be better than just a statue in the middle! « .
The boss of the Café de Paris, which opens on weekend evenings, displays a positive spirit: “The guys are working well on the site, it is an investment in the future, the beautification of this place for us traders”.
The secretary of the dental office claims not to be affected by the construction site: “Patients come to appointments, we simply say to pay attention to the elderly when leaving”. The path, it is true, is a bit complex.

The Jasmin statue back on June 2

The Human Immobilier agency on the corner is just complaining about noise pollution and the future parking problem: “The places were free up front”, but the employees are rather enthusiastic about the idea of ​​a reorganized place.
At Mellibis Renouveau, the florist notes a slight drop in activity, “but people come anyway and then it’s been thirty years since I’ve been employed here and I’ve seen Jasmin planted right in the middle of its rosebushes. This beautiful square will revitalize the area and bring back businesses”. And to quote the post office which has closed, but another local which has just been taken over by a laser aesthetic center. The restored statue of Jasmin will return to this square on the morning of June 2.

Everyone hails the efficiency of the workers and technicians despite the noise, dust and machinery. Céline Descomps, the pharmacist at the Pharmacie République, asks to see like Saint-Thomas.
At Pizza Salva, the take-out pizzeria open for lunch and dinner, Lionel Chatelas is well aware that his customers have to park a little further away: “They bother more to find parking. But we had to redo this place which will be very good! So when we do nothing, it groans and when major works are launched, it’s the same! And then behind will arise the question of harmonizing the facades, which also promises, ”laughs this trader who has been on the street for 22 years.
At the sign at O ​​Riz grilled chicken, Yassine the manager applauds with both hands the idea of ​​this transfigured place: “It will liven up this corner, it’s a good thing! In any case, we couldn’t park too much already”.
Others fear that this central agora could be squatted by the homeless, the people who beg and the so-called dog punks, who already line the boulevard. A square that is meant to be an emblematic showcase at the entrance to the city.