The government is tackling “dark shops” by giving local authorities and councils the power to act.

The French government will issue a decree in the coming days to end the “fuzziness” about “dark stores”, these premises dedicated to the preparation of deliveries, by reinforcing the regulatory power of mayors, it announced on Tuesday.

With this future decree, “dark stores are considered warehouses in terms of sub-destination, whether or not there is a withdrawal point,” said Trade Minister Olivia Grégoire after a consultation meeting with local elected officials in Paris.

“There will be no more blur”

In mid-August, the city council of Paris, the main city affected, had denounced a draft ministerial decree that would have allowed these places where everyday products are stored that can be ordered online and delivered in 10 minutes, to be considered as places of shops or restaurants, as long as they have a collection point for the public.

But with the new text, “there will be no more vagueness”, promised Olivier Klein, Deputy Minister of City and Housing, so that companies that have not made the legal changes will default and will “most likely” have to close at the end of the legal process . This text will be a “tool so that local authorities and mayors can regulate, ban or not according to their wishes”, summed up Olivia Grégoire for whom, however, “this is not the end of the dark shops”.

“The government confirms the illegality observed, in particular in Paris, in dozens of dark shops and therefore the need for their immediate closure,” reacted the urban planning deputy of the Paris city council, Emmanuel Grégoire, who had launched the rebellion in August against the previous draft decree. The big players in this sector (Gorillas, Flink, Deliveroo, Getir or Gopuff) “today have no escape”, rejoiced the elected socialist, highly critical of his social model.

Unfair competition and nuisance to neighbors

Embodiments of “fast trade” that allow products to be ordered online and delivered in a few minutes, “dark shops” and “dark kitchens” have multiplied in the heart of metropolitan areas since 2020, thanks to successive lockdowns and curfews .

And this despite the criticism they provoke from traditional businesses, who denounce unfair competition, and the neighbors, exasperated by the inconvenience. The “dark stores” store everyday consumer products while the “dark kitchens” are kitchens not attached to a restaurant, only intended for the delivery of dishes.