Back in 2020, in a bid to avoid the spread of the Covid virus in indoor spaces and respect social distancing, Paris authorities granted temporary licences for restaurants, bars and cafés to extend their outdoor seating areas onto pavements, parking spaces or even the street.
The scheme was so popular that it returned in 2021 and the city then decided to make it a permanent feature, rebranded as terrasses estivales (summer terraces) for customers to enjoy in the city between April 1st and October 31st.
It's become a fixture of the city in summer, and in 2026 summer terraces once again opened on April 1st.
It also meshes well with former Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo's long-term project to remove parking spaces in the city, pedestrianise streets and generally return public space from the car to the pedestrian. The new mayor of Paris - her former deputy Emmanuel Grégoire - is expected to continue her work in this area.
The summer terrace system has, however, become a little more formal.
Businesses must now apply for a licence for their temporary terraces, at a cost from €1,000, depending on the style and size of terraces, and there are also rules on the structure and style of the temporary spaces.
But despite the administration, many bars and cafés have leapt at the chance to expand their seating areas and the city expects to see a profusion of new terrace spaces again now it is - in terrace terms - summer.
"It truly helped us during the pandemic. People preferred to be outside," said Nina Claudel, the bar manager at Le Pavillon des Canaux - a cultural venue, restaurant, cafe and well-served drinking hole in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, which has regularly set up summer terraces.
In 2022, more than 2,000 venues applied for licences.
Rim Zaouit, a guitar maker who regularly visits the city, is delighted at the news.
"It is much more agreeable to have space outside. It is healthy to be outside and people are more relaxed. Getting Vitamin D from the sun is a good way to counterbalance the drinking," he laughed.
Venues are obliged to get authorisation from the City Council and pay for the right to set-up a summer terrace. The cost varies according to when and where you install seating - moving chairs onto a delivery spot before the end of August for example could cost €1,500.
Kanji, a barman at Paris' Bar Ourcq, next to the Bassin de la Villette in northern Paris, said the cost is worth it.
"On a hot day, we can double or even triple the number of customers. There is a lot of foot traffic," he said.
The rules state that venues operating summer terraces are obliged to close them by 10pm to avoid disrupting the lives of local residents, although the early closing only applies to the extended terrace area.
Failing to respect closing times or operating an extended terrace without a license, could land customers with fines between €68 to €500 and a ban on setting up terraces in the future.
"It is out of the question that we will deliver an authorisation to businesses that have repeatedly committed offences," said Ariel Weil, the mayor of the central Paris arrondissements, in an interview with Le Parisien.
The rules also state that the terraces must comply with standards of "aesthetic quality", with temporary tarpaulins and wooden pallets banned.
Only chairs and parasols are allowed, with any other paraphernalia over 1m 30cm excluded, in an attempt to keep public spaces free.
Terrace cafés have been a feature of Parisian culture since the 19th Century - it is only the extended form brought in to deal with the Covid crisis that is new.
"Café terraces represent the the spirit of Paris and Parisian liberty in a certain way," said Patrick Rambourg, a historian.
"What did terrorists target during the attacks that we suffered a few years ago? Café terraces. It is not anodyne. They wanted to impact the heart of French civilisation," he said in a video published on the Paris City website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD-dWo9KJmg
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