Mélina Facchin, edited by Laura Laplaud 6:05 am, December 13, 2021
With the fifth wave of Covid-19 sweeping over France, health measures have been stepped up everywhere, including Christmas markets.
The most famous of them, that of Strasbourg, opened a little over two weeks ago and is due to close in two weeks.
So, halfway through, have these sanitary measures repelled visitors?
REPORTING
Have the sanitary measures applied to the Christmas markets slowed down the economy?
Did they repel visitors?
Are traders the losers?
Despite the compulsory mask everywhere, despite the health pass imposed on more and more Christmas market sites ... Visitors are not discouraged, quite the contrary.
"We were private for a year, there was no market, there were restrictions, so there we want to have fun," testifies a visitor.
A festive moment at all costs
“Just because I'm wearing a mask doesn't mean I'm not going to buy what I want to buy,” says another.
Overall, visitors agree that they will have fun, Covid-19 or not.
"We spend as usual for me", "we do not pay attention, when the wallet is flat, it will be necessary to return!"
The 300 or so traders present, who feared that this year would be a bit missed, are optimistic for the moment.
"I have the impression that people are letting go because last year there was no market, suddenly this year, it's not that they spend lavishly but they have fun" , observes one of them.
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"We have a little higher average baskets and people are much happier to buy, with more smiles than usual", slips another seller.
But we will have to wait until December 26, when the Christmas market closes, to really do the accounts and to see whether, despite the Covid-19, the two million usual visitors will have been there.