Stéphane Burgatt, edited by Yanis Darras 3:08 p.m., April 16, 2022

After two years of absence due to Covid-19, the Feria d'Arles is making a comeback.

The city expects to receive nearly 300,000 people over the weekend.

For the merchants of the city, the return of this tradition signals the return of tourists and the region's way of life.

Fiesta and bodega in the streets, Camargue races and bullfights in the arenas.

In Arles, it is the great return of the Easter feria since the start of the covid-19 crisis.

A moment that many locals and tourists have been looking forward to.

Nearly 300,000 visitors are expected to roam the streets of the city all weekend.

From this Saturday morning, the atmosphere is already rising. 

>> Find the weekend midday newspaper in podcast and replay here

Normally, it is from the evening that we feel the atmosphere warming up.

And this year, it was already the case this morning", explains Amandine, who runs a bodega in the city of Arles. At the wooden counter, customers are already jostling, she underlines. All smiles, Claude that everyone nicknames "Popeye", finally finds his feria: "It feels good, finally.

People find the well-being of living from the feria."

"It was missed by many traders".

To meet the first requests of customers, the cooks are already at work in the small streets of the historic center with a single obsession: to make the best paella possible: "Paella rhymes with the feria", jokes one of the cooks.

"Normally, it is good. In any case, it feels good (to see the feria again, editor's note), it allows us not to lose the traditions because they are getting lost a little", he judges. 

After a canceled edition and another where only bullfights were authorized, the real Easter feria is back with its street entertainment to the great relief of traders like Vito from the "Arènes" brewery: "It's good for the city “to see the feria again, he explains.

"It has a lot of tourists, the merchants really missed it", he underlines.

Vito hopes the influence will continue until Monday, when the Easter Feria ends.