The Angers pavement tax project on the way out by mayor's decision

The Angers mayor has decided on Wednesday to withdraw the project of pavement tax enforceable to storekeepers as soon as their customers were occupying the public domain, even for a while, for their purchases. That project, which was made public last june, infuriated Angers down town shop owners, already worried by the rise of car parks fares. Their anger lead them to riot in the middle of the tramway line in Ralliement square that morning.

"That issue deserves a more compre-hensive debate with the store keepers. I shall suggest to withdraw that deliberation during the next municipal council meeting", said the mayor, Frédéric Beatse. On shop retailers side, they complained that morning that "the Angers customers had to run away from down town because the costs to park were to high" and about the "illegality of the pavement tax on which [justice] has already came to a decision".

 
The case is clearly a bad point for Jacques Motteau, deputy mayor in charge of commerce openly criticized by the traders. It's the same for his project, that Mr Beatse officialy postponed and, possibly, cancelled. The storekeepers wish now to get the right to open their shops on the three last Sundays of each year. (Credit picture : Wikipedia)