The spirit of Christmas has taken hold of Montbéliard. After a canceled 2020 edition due to the pandemic, the traditional Christmas market, the most important in Franche-Comté, started this Saturday.
“It was important to us to come to the Christmas market this year“smiles Florian, who strolls with his family between the stands.”This is something that we lacked compared to last year, to find the convivial aspect, the lights … and eating, above all, is very important!“.
Same feeling of lightness for Faustine: “Two years ago we had rain, last year it was the Covid … We came to recharge our batteries, the current period is not easy. This allows children to dream a little, to decompress, to get some fresh air.“
With the highlight of this first day, the highlighting of the illuminations:
This year, 135 chalets have been set up in the city center of the Cité des Princes, instead of the usual 160, in order to space out visitors as much as possible. The catering area is also accessible only on presentation of the health pass, and wearing a mask is compulsory throughout the market.
– Xavier Ponroy
The joy of traders
The return of the Christmas market is also a relief for traders. “I am delighted to be there, like the visitors!“enthuses Valérie, who runs a jewelry chalet. “It’s a big working moment for us, a good half of our working year is being played out.“
– Xavier Ponroy
The market runs until December 28.