Three weeks of aperitifs, after work and parties on the water. The light from the garlands of the guinguette which reflects on the surface of the canal. On board, the sound of clinking glasses, laughter and a few musical notes escape from the century-old barge. Three weeks and then nothing. Opened in May on the Saint-Cyr quays, in Rennes, the La Musette bar closed its doors on May 31, just three weeks after its opening. Reason given by the owners, also at the head of the bar Les Grands Gamins: “an administrative flaw”. And since ? Nothing. After four and a half months of closure, many customers and residents are wondering when La Musette will be able to reopen. And especially why it had to close so suddenly. The reason is administrative and not so easy to solve. Explanations.
The idea of mooring a barge on the Ille-et-Rance canal is not new. The call for projects was launched in 2019 by the city of Rennes and the Brittany region, competent in the river sector. The first installations were expected from 2020 but the Covid got involved. The French administrative heaviness too, which has put off some project leaders and slowed down others. We thought the matter was settled when La Musette docked in April alongside Salon Mouch’, a floating hair salon established there since 2014.
An evacuation problem in the event of a fire
Before opening, the owners of the bar had obtained validation from the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea with whom they had been in contact for several months to investigate their case. Except that the state services have retracted. “Initially, the barge was considered as sailing equipment. All the instruction was made in this direction. But the State considered that the barge remaining at the quay, it became an ERP (establishment receiving the public) ”, explains a close friend of the file.
An approach confirmed in certain texts that we have consulted. “If the ship remains at the quay, it depends on the regulations for floating establishments open to the public established by the decree of January 9, 1990”, explains the Ardennes tourism committee. in a note. “All establishments must meet the safety rules relating to protection against the risk of fire and panic in the safety regulations”, can we read on Legifrance website.
The objective: “reopen as soon as possible”
Contacted, the owners of the barge do not wish to speak. Those who are already at the head of the very popular Les Grands Gamins bar have invested heavily to acquire and transform this Nantes barge dating from 1903. Jérémy Leduc and Matthieu Horeau confirm the dispute with the State about the classification of their establishment in ERP and “hope to find a solution and reopen as soon as possible”.
By becoming an ERP, the barge finds itself subject to strict regulations, particularly in terms of “help”. It is for this reason, linked to the evacuation of customers in the event of a fire, that the barge had to close. “The question is whether we can get 75 people out through a single bridge,” continues this person familiar with the matter. It is therefore in the hands of the firefighters of SDIS 35 that the file landed. Only they can give their agreement to the city of Rennes, now in charge of the investigation, to authorize the reopening of the barge. When contacted, the Rennes municipality confirms “being in regular contact with the owners” with the hope “of finding a satisfactory solution for everyone”. In what time frame? Impossible to say.