In the heart of Paris’s Left Bank, the Café de Cluny has witnessed many tumultuous events in modern French history. During the liberation of Paris in 1944, it was surrounded by barricades. In May 1968, the café’s terrace was on the front lines of the student riots that nearly toppled the French government. 

Today, the old café is closed and boarded up. For the past three years the corner location on Boulevard Saint-Michel has resembled a desolate urban ruin in a Latin Quarter once famous for its vibrant bohemian culture.

The prime Rive Gauche address may finally have a new tenant, though not everyone is happy. The location may soon sport the bright red storefront logo of the fast-food chain Five Guys. The American burger chain, which appeared on the Champs-Élysées a decade ago, has been keen to penetrate the Latin Quarter with its heavy tourist footfall in the area close to Notre Dame, the Luxembourg Gardens and the Pantheon.

Four years ago, Five Guys attempted to take over a coveted Latin Quarter address vacated by the famed bookshop Gibert Jeune. The book retailer, founded in 1886, had gone out of business and left the building vacant. For Five Guys, the location on Place Saint-Michel was perfect. But political opposition was fierce.

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‘Unacceptable’, declared Florence Berthout, the conservative mayor of the fifth arrondissement which includes the Latin Quarter. An American fast-food chain selling cheeseburgers and milkshakes where once stood a legendary French bookshop was a bridge too far. Five Guys beat a hasty retreat. The Gibert Jeune bookshop remained empty, its facade covered with graffiti.

Local residents learnt recently that a new tenant will soon be moving in to Gibert’s site. The good news: it won’t be Five Guys. The bad news: it will be........

© The Spectator