The people of Lille celebrate the return of the Braderie, after two years of absence: “The braderie is us!”

“We have all kinds of things for sale. Even corkscrews, if you want!” This Saturday, September 3, these Lille residents do not hide their pride in having found their stand at the big Braderie de Lille, after two years of absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic: “The clearance sale is us!”they proclaim, all smiles.

A little further, Eric is very happy with his find: “It is a completely vintage matchbox from a little over thirty years ago, where we find the figure of Mr. Mauroy, our former mayor, and a small advertisement from the time . And that, you can only find that at the Lille clearance sale! You can do five years of clearance sale, you’ll only find it here!”

And walking through the crowded streets, this love of Lille residents for their clearance sale is obvious. “It’s true that we’ve been waiting for this for two years, what”, confides a brad seller. Or two years of absence and finally a return to the sources: “Back then, five or six years agoexplains a seller, there were many people who came from outside to sell clothes made in distant countries at unbeatable prices and finally the soul of the sale was dissolved…”

“Repositioning the sale on the traditional sale with the end of attics, cellars etc., it’s much more fun. And the atmosphere is hot!”

Sometimes the rain comes. Here, a whole family dons a plastic poncho. “You have to plan ahead. The clearance sale isn’t always sunny. There’s a bit of both…”smiled the mother. “We are equipped, we come as a family. Then we have everything we need, K-Ways, ponchos…”we complete at his side.

Everyone wants to drink, everyone wants to eat, and that goes through some 500 tonnes of mussels. “Unfortunately, I don’t like mussels, explains, annoyed, Theo. I hope they make something other than mussels. Otherwise I’ll only eat the fries.” Théo chose his event rather badly: mussels and fries are the dish that everyone snatches here. But Theo nevertheless prefers to stay with his friends: “This is where we see that the spirit of friendship is strong!”he quips.

And too bad if the crowd ends up creating huge pedestrian traffic jams in the streets: hundreds of thousands of visitors are there. “It’s part of the folklore of the braderie: trampling in Old Lille and waiting for many minutes!”, underlines Arnaud, a big smile on his face. And concludes: “It’s nice to see so many people again. After these two years, it feels good!”