Paris Wants to Kick ‘Dark Stores’ Out of the City Center
The city began imposing fines on distribution centers run by rapid-delivery startups last month. But a court decision has thrown those plans in the air.
A Getir distribution center at Passage des Recollets in Paris, on Oct. 7.
Photography: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg
Passage des Recollets, off the Canal Saint Martin in Paris, used to be a sleepy one-way street with residential buildings, an elementary school and a child care center. Until last year.
That’s when Getir, one of the many startups that took off during the pandemic promising rapid deliveries of everything from fresh produce to laundry detergent, opened a distribution center on the ground floor of one of the buildings. Suddenly, supply trucks were unloading goods at all hours of the day and delivery mopeds were zipping by as they did their rounds, shattering the quiet rhythm of the street.