The Council of State ruled on Thursday March 23 that the "dark stores" were warehouses within the meaning of the urban planning code and the local Parisian urban plan, giving reason to the town hall of Paris in the dispute which opposes it in Frichti and Gorillas.
The "dark stores" are premises where these fast delivery companies store everyday products, the same as in a city center convenience store (food, toilet paper, shampoo…), to deliver them quickly to the users of their applications. But this activity is criticized by many elected officials around the world, who denounce pell-mell, the arrival of "warehouse cities", the nuisances for the residents because of the circulation of scooters and delivery men, even "the economy of laziness ".
The mayor of Paris had turned against several "dark stores" installed in premises which until then housed traditional businesses, accusing them of not having declared their activity as warehouses. Minutes were drawn up. Frichti and Gorillas contested and won a first legal battle in October 2022.
The town hall of Paris promises verbalizations
However, the Court of Appeal ultimately found that they "should have filed a declaration with the town hall to use as 'dark stores' premises which were originally traditional businesses". PS Mayor Anne Hidalgo's deputy town planner, Emmanuel Grégoire, shouted "Victory!" " on Twitter. "As of now, the financial sanctions that have been suspended" by the administrative court "will be revived. These illegal warehouses will be fined,” he said.
In October, the administrative court had suspended nine reports of infringements of the town planning code issued by the town hall of Paris by summary procedure, recognizing that they were of "collective interest" because they allowed "to optimize in urban areas the time and the mode of delivery" and therefore to "reduce truck traffic and the number of delivery points in intramural Paris".
The Council of State considered Thursday that there had indeed been "an unauthorized change of activity", and canceled the suspension of the judge in chambers. "These premises store goods to quickly deliver customers and are no longer intended for direct sale within the meaning of the town planning code," he said. They "do not fall under the category 'constructions and installations necessary for public services or of collective interest' in the Paris PLU", he continued.
