For 30 years, the truck Pizza Delight makes the happiness of the Croix-roussiens, 7 days a week, noon and evening. Historically installed on the imposing sidewalk of the boulevard de la Croix-Rousse (Lyon 1er), around number 76, the vehicle is almost an institution for the students of the La Tourette college, located a hundred meters away. Joël Ben Dris, who bought Pizz Délice from a friend 10 years ago, has a file of more than 11,000 customers, as well as three employees and 150,000 euros in turnover.
But trouble started for the manager in July 2021, when the city of Lyon told him that “his location had to be released”. A decision that the interested party considers “without any basis”, and which pushes him to take a lawyer and to refuse for more than six months to move his business. “I was first offered to move to a nearby street, near buildings,” sighs Joël Ben Dris, who invested 70,000 euros two years ago to make his own new pizza truck.
“Pure and harsh intimidation” of the municipal police
He claims to have received a visit from the municipal police in November, who wanted to check his parking authorization on the boulevard, “pure and harsh intimidation”. Then, a recommended from the city of Lyon, on December 21, informs him that this authorization, which costs him a monthly rent of 543 euros, “will no longer be granted from January 1, 2022”. What exactly does the ecologist town hall accuse of Pizz Délice, “an isolated case in Lyon”, which continues to serve its wood-fired pizzas daily despite this last letter?
“Parking on the sidewalks of Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse has been totally prohibited by decree since March 20, 2021, there are regular verbalizations, explains Valentin Lungenstrass, assistant for mobility, urban logistics and public spaces. There is therefore a consistency to be had so that these sidewalks become again a space entirely dedicated to pedestrians. »
“I feel like a criminal”
The argument of “the policy of pedestrianization” does not convince Joël Ben Dris: “There is always on the sidewalks of the boulevard the market, the Vogue of the maroons [fête foraine en octobre-novembre], and cars that stay parked on them without worry. We therefore suffer an injustice, especially since there has never been the slightest complaint in the neighborhood against us. Valentin Lungenstrass, who wants to meet Joël Ben Dris in the coming days, still has a solution: “Nobody wants the pizza truck to disappear, and our proposal remains open: it can move 10 meters to park in a regulatory space on the road. This seemed to us to be a legal formality given the low impact it would have on its activity. »
This option is not suitable for the 45-year-old pizza maker: “There would be problems with visibility in relation to customers, but also with safety, since my employees would have to enter and exit the truck by road. And then if a vehicle sticks right behind my truck, how could I get in to work? I expect better conditions from the city. This former pastry chef apprentice at Bouillet does not intend to let go.
There is total disregard on the part of the town hall for the work of artisans. Especially after the Covid-19, now is not the time to fall on us. The town hall is killing small businesses. For her, it is undoubtedly an easy story to manage, compared to the real problems of the Guillotière. »
“This pizza truck is a real factor of conviviality”
If Joël Ben Dris can draw anything positive from his current complex situation, it is the support received from the Croix-Rousse residents. A loyal customer for fifteen years, Wanda says: “He’s the only pizza maker on the entire boulevard and I don’t see how his truck bothers pedestrians, given how wide the sidewalk is. Joël is a figure of the Croix-Rousse and you have to save his pizza truck, which is a real factor of conviviality here. »
A symbolic testimony of solidarity in the neighborhood that affects Joël Ben Fris: “I spoke about my worries to two or three customers and it immediately had a snowball effect. An online petition launched (it has more than 650 signatures on Monday) and this very strong support from the whole neighborhood pleases me a lot. »