It is already boiling in the streets of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. The D-Day festivities, celebrating the 78th anniversary of the Allied Landings of June 6, 1944, do not officially begin until this Friday, until Monday, but traders and restaurateurs are ready to accommodate some 100,000 people.
Traders eager to celebrate D-Day
“We’re finally there!” Nicolas Bertot was impatiently awaiting this moment, he who opened his restaurant, Nyco’s Happy Diner, in full confinement. “I’m happy to finally be able to start this adventure. In 2020, it was catastrophic, and in 2021, there were only ceremonies with the officials, so very few people.”
– Chloe Martin
A first real D-Day also for Thomas Scelles and his restaurant Les Ecuries. “We are a little stressed, we don’t know what to expect. We have simplified the menu, but in terms of quantities, we don’t know if we have planned enough. It will be a surprise”he smiles.
Full fridges, simplified menus… the restaurateurs are ready
Even the regulars have to get their bearings. “It’s been two years since we’ve seen many people, so we have to get back into the swing of things”, explains Yves Louvet, manager of the Cauquigny crêperie for eight years. The beer kegs are already there, only the latest deliveries. “250 beef tartars, 50kg of fries and around twenty kilos of fresh onions. We will partly store them in our refrigerator trucks.”
We have planned 100 kg of rib steaks!
At his colleague Jean-François Renouf, from the creperie “Chez Jeanne”, the stocks are also full. “We have planned 100 kg of rib steaks! Usually, we are on 10 to 20 kg.” Better to be organized. For that, everything is simplified as much as possible. “We sacrificed half of our pancakes to make it manageable in the kitchen. And this year, we have bamboo plates to limit the dishes.”
– Chloe Martin
The event not to be missed in terms of turnover
All restaurateurs and traders have moreover muscled their staff for this weekend of festivities. “It’s the not-to-be-missed event of the year. For us, that represents two to three months of turnover.” As much as Christmas or Easter for Teddy Letords, butcher-caterer.
With a ton of sausages to produce – five times more than usual – this period is also very intense. “It’s very physical with 20 hours of work in a row and very little sleep. But it’s worth it when you look at what it brings in financially.”
It is the Lourdes of the people who commemorate the Liberation
Same observation for Frédéric Georgin, owner of three shops of surplus and military objects. “There are a lot of enthusiasts and re-enactment groups. They all want to bring back a little souvenir from Normandy. It’s a bit like the Lourdes of people who commemorate the Liberation. It’s true that for us, it’s a very beneficial period”he says.
The return of enthusiasts and foreign tourists
“There is really the effect ‘I was there and I want to bring back a memory’, it is undeniable”, confirms Magali Mallet, director of the Airborne Museum. In these few days, the museum doubles its daily attendanceeven if it remains lower than in August. “We see a lot of American soldiers already”says its director.
Several hundreds of American servicemen indeed arrived at the beginning of the week. Not to mention the tourists and enthusiasts, present since the long Ascension weekend. “We have a lot of foreigners, Americans, Canadians, English, Germans, that we didn’t have last year. There, it’s already been a good week since we entered the heart of the matter and it’s starting well !”rejoices Marylène Lacotte, manager of the bar La Liberation.
A whole village celebrates
The village has already adorned with the colors of the festivities. Garlands and flags hung everywhere and painted shop windows. “Gotta get in the party spirit!”launches Sandrine Lefèvre who installs the latest decorations in her clothing store.
– Chloe Martin
“We’re ready and we’re all in! We’ll even be dressed in period costumes”smiles Cindy of Peace Bakery. “We just hope the weather and the sun will be with us!”