Today, Saturday, February 10, is the start of many carnivals throughout France, notably that of Granville in La Manche, while in Dunkirk, the largest carnival in the North, we await tomorrow, Sunday, the traditional and eagerly awaited throwing herrings from City Hall. The sociologist Jean Viard returns to this very old tradition which continues.
franceinfo: How do you explain that this tradition is still lived with such fervor in 21st century France?
Jean Viard: So first of all, it’s a celebration, each time local, characteristic, it’s not just in France, in Rio, there is Cologne, Cologne, it’s huge, there are a million people, Rio started yesterday, there is obviously Nice…And that’s because in fact, it’s around Mardi Gras, which is February 13. Mardi Gras was created by the Catholic world, because it was before Lent. And since we were lean during Lent, we can no longer eat meat, so before, Shrove Tuesday, it was the day when we ate more sensibly, before Lent.
So the start is Lent, and therefore the opposite of Lent. But it’s a celebration, as modern festivals often are, they’re thousands of years old. You had that among the Romans, for example, the Saturnalia festivals, it was even much more transgressive. You could play at being a senator, you could behave erotically in public, and it stayed deep down. Look at the Dunkirk carnival, we change the names, we of course put on a mask, we have correct behaviors but which are still extremely different. Basically, it is a moment of transgression, but behind it, it is the moment of the arrival of spring.
New Years have been celebrated in all cultures, including Chinese New Year, etc. The new year is starting. And basically, what we are doing is celebrating rebirth. And so we could be reborn rich, poor, miserable, because we are usually man, woman, we can change gender, etc. So that’s what’s happening, it’s this explosion of life that accompanies rebirth, possibly before Lent, for those who do it, or before Ramadan for that matter, for Muslims.
Is this one of those times when there is a real need to come together around unifying events like this?
But it is essential. I mean, we are “link”. Without connection, man no longer exists. You are all alone on top of a mountain, the view may be magnificent, but man is linked to others. So if you leave moments of connection, these are moments of reunion, moments of a little forgiveness, that is to say that we can play a little with everyone, there is no longer any enemies…
Everyone mixes in the end, all social classes too?
As always, we mix more or less. There are still codes, there are places, there is negotiation to be on the tank or not on the tank, etc. So, like everywhere, there are social groups and hierarchies. But fundamentally, the idea is: we mix – the North particularly, because there is such a warm culture in the North, in Belgium, it’s magnificent, so it’s true that it’s a very warm culture, very supportive, it’s a work culture…
Nice is more in a festive mode, in a light mode, so each place has its logic, and I think it’s important to see that, and to bond. It’s a massive explosion of joy. Then, there are the inhabitants, those who are in this culture, and then there are those who come to see. In Cologne, there are 1 million visitors, they are not all from Cologne, it’s the same everywhere. And so at one point, one of the challenges is that it remains sufficiently local to have meaning, that it is not just a show.
Is it true that carnivals have also become real promotional arguments for tourist offices?
Yes, but like the flea market in Lille, like the Christmas crib in Strasbourg, like the Avignon festival. We are in a world of extraordinary mobility where we live in our territories, and at the same time we never stop going into the territories of others. The French make 200 million trips in France, to go somewhere. So it’s clear that these are tourist destinations. Somewhere, we seek to encounter the local culture.
Each carnival is different, we could do them all, it’s like going to the theater, each show is different. So I think it’s becoming a big tourist attraction. But it must remain true, because the meaning must be part of local history.
Jean Viard has just published A riot is the language of those who are not heard, published by Editions de l’Aube.