Orly Officials Threaten Legal Action Against Halal Butcher for Lease Violation

The butcher’s shop located at 42, rue du Commerce, in old Orly (Val-de-Marne) is in the sights of the town hall. The latter reproaches it for not having respected the clauses of the lease, which stipulate that the butcher’s shop must be "a business ensuring the sale of all types of meat". Hamid Mounsi, manager of this butcher’s shop, refuses to sell pork because of his Muslim faith and the risk of losing "more than 20% of turnover" and closing "within the year", while the now sole and only traditional butcher’s shop selling pork in Orly is located on rue Jean-Racine in a building that is to be demolished as part of an urban planning project, reports Le Parisien.

In a statement to CNEWS, he said he had informed the town hall of the "type of merchandise" that would be marketed, during a meeting held before the opening of the business. For its part, the town hall of Orly chaired by Christine Janodet (DVG) recalls that it had "specified in the lease that it should be a traditional butcher’s shop ensuring the sale of all types of meat". "We have nothing against halal butchers, but we want to maintain a diversified commercial offer in the municipality, because Orly already has six halal butchers," she adds.

The municipality wants to enforce the lease clauses. It has already sent a formal notice to Hamid Mounsi who will have to comply with the lease clauses. In case of refusal, the town hall could terminate the lease. "Does the city prefer to have a closed store and an empty premises rather than a butcher’s shop selling fine Rungis meat and responding to the demand of local customers?", questions the manager. "We want to allow the people of Orly to continue to be able to buy pork elsewhere than at Leclerc," retorts the town hall, which says it is nevertheless ready to "go as far as litigation". "There are many more Muslim customers here. It’s the law of supply and demand that regulates trade, not a town hall," Hamid points out.