Strasbourg. Regulatory problems, internal conflicts, complaints: 4 months of administrative closure for the Wagon Souk

On July 18, Deputy Prefect Cécile Rackette made the trip in person to Rue du Rempart in Strasbourg, accompanied by police officers, customs officers, and a labor inspector. A previous episode in 2024 led to a police investigation and put Le Wagon in the authorities' sights .

Since September 2, the association's president, Mohamed Zahi, has been notified of a four-month administrative closure. The primary reason for this order is the sale of spirits without the appropriate license number 4, which would allow this sale.

Furthermore, the closure order noted a case of undeclared work as well as an offense for employing a foreign person without a work permit. Finally, law enforcement seized hookah tobacco on the premises without proof of authorization to sell it.

In addition to this administrative decision, the association is experiencing a governance crisis that escalated in the second half of August. Disagreements between the president and an artistic speaker who organized several events at Le Wagon, as well as the artistic director (a founding member of the association) of Le Wagon Souk, escalated to the point that both women filed complaints against Mohamed Zahi.

"I was harassed for three months via private messages, then publicly harassed and defamed on social media," says the external artist (*), who documented these violent attacks against her with numerous screenshots. "I became the scapegoat for this man, who is thus diverting attention from his own failings," continues the complainant. "But I know that I am not the only victim of his actions." "I filed a complaint on August 22 to free speech and also because I could not let these questions about my professional seriousness go unanswered."

This crisis will have serious consequences for the future of the third place. Highlighting the importance of a project that is "friendly, activist, and (promotes) cultural encounters," the Strasbourg municipality committed in June 2025 to working with the Wagon Souk team to develop an architectural program for the building's rehabilitation and upgrading. This was with a view to possible occupancy of the premises by the public using the site. Work had been announced for 2027.

"The complaints we have been informed of allege violence within the organization," responded First Deputy Mayor Syamak Agha Babaei earlier this week. "It is obviously up to the courts to decide on the merits, but these accusations affect the organization's operations." Hence the decision, officially expressed in a press release on August 29, to freeze the City's partnership with the organization. "Peaceful and different governance will be the condition for resuming the rehabilitation project," the elected official added.

Contacted by us on Thursday evening, Mohamed Zahi considers himself "the victim of a vast lynching campaign." He himself has filed, he says, three complaints against each of the women who accuse him as well as "the mayor and her office."

In the meantime, the prosecution has retained against him the facts of sending malicious messages by electronic means for one of the complainants, of attempting to disturb the peace, of undermining the honor or reputation of the second, by clearly identifying her on social networks by "her photograph accompanied by a denigrating message." These facts are the subject of a proposed composition of the penalty. The judicial system in question allows for the rapid punishment of the perpetrator of an offense who admits his guilt, avoiding a strict trial.

(*) Our contact wished to remain anonymous.