On the forecourt of the cathedral in Reims, traders from Christmas market are mixed, a few days before closing, this Wednesday, December 29.
Pascal comes from the Vosges, he sells sweets and for him, this Christmas market was rather a good surprise. ” We even did more than in 2019. At the start, we were surprised, we were out of stock“, he says. Some weekends he even sold up to a ton of candy, or his entire delivery.
But on other stands, the result is much less exciting. Claire is a student, she worked for different chalets as a saleswoman and she notices that “everything that is food sells rather well but for everything that is artisanal, I find that it is not very crowded. There are days when there is really no one or very off-peak hours“, she explains.
Same story with Aloïse, employee of DB Bombs, shop of soaps and bath bombs. “What we lacked were the coaches of foreigners who did not come this year and the limitation to people with a health pass. We have a lot of flagship products that did not sell “, she explains.
Discounts for traders on the high promenade
On the side of the high walks, traders had alerted, at the beginning of the month, to the lack of passage, linked, according to them, to the absence of decorations and signposts.
When taking stock on this subject, Vincent Mansencal, president of Vitrines de Reims, organizers of the Christmas market alongside the town hall, recognizes possible improvements. “It was a first and the sanitary condition made it necessary to distribute the Christmas market over several places.“, he justifies.
It also indicates that‘a discount has been granted to traders on the rental price of the chalets, as a compensation.