When the management of an emblematic pétanque court in Montmartre is settled in court. The Montmartre bowling club defended itself this Tuesday before the Paris administrative court against its expulsion in favor of a hotel, located right next to the ground it has occupied since the 1970s. The city of Paris argues that the ground on which the Clap (Club Lepic Abbesses Pétanque) has been installed for fifty years belongs to the public domain, and not to the club, and must be handed over to the Hôtel Particulier, a neighboring establishment which obtained management in July.
Le Clap is a place “for partying, not to say drinking on Fridays and Saturdays when the weather is nice, with caterpillars and bagpipe concerts at every hour”, arousing complaints from hotel guests , argued the lawyer representing the city, Me Alice Gorse, justifying the urgency of an eviction. The city of Paris also highlighted the “attitude” of the members, affirming that “the future occupant is treated as a vulture, the Paris town hall as a woodlice” in publications shared on social networks, quoted Me Gorse.
Management granted for twelve years
“The city of Paris acquired the land in 1966 by acting through the prefect of Paris, it was before decentralization,” recalled Me Alice Gorse. “Two years later, in 1971, Clap settled on the land without any title deed and still does not have a title today,” continued Mr. Gorse, adding that the city had the objective of make it a “green space”.
“There was no transfer of property between the Seine prefecture and the city of Paris after 1966,” replied Me Sébastien Le Briero, representing the bowling club. Concerning the desire to transform the land into a green space, “the work was never carried out”, insisted the lawyer, recalling that the city of Paris had also tried, in vain, to build a car park there in the 1980s. “The Clap is presented as the villain in this story,” lamented the club’s lawyer. “There is animosity between certain Clap members and the hotel manager, who has been a member of the club for a long time. In September 2022, he decided to seek to take over management of the land, and it went into a tailspin,” he explained.
The hotel has obtained the management of some 765 m2 located on Avenue Junot for twelve years. The decision will be rendered on September 25 by the summary judge.