--- a/cubicweb/ext/tal.py	Tue Dec 17 21:21:55 2019 +0100
+++ b/cubicweb/ext/tal.py	Thu Dec 19 08:13:22 2019 +0100
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@
     :param template: path of the file to compile
     """
     fp = open(filepath)
-    file_content = unicode(fp.read()) # template file should be pure ASCII
+    file_content = str(fp.read()) # template file should be pure ASCII
     fp.close()
     return compile_template(file_content)