The “ornamental” big wheel of Lille.

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M.Libert / 20 Minutes

  • The Amiens Ferris wheel will ultimately not be able to accommodate a public.

  • As in Lille, the argument put forward by the prefect is the risk of generating crowds on the public highway.

  • There is to be a new point in mid-December to determine if these rides will be allowed to operate normally.

A real circus around a merry-go-round.

A new episode came, this Thursday, to feed the burlesque soap opera of the big Christmas wheels.

As a result, after that of Lille, it is finally also the merry-go-round installed in Amiens which was banned from receiving the public due to the health crisis of the coronavirus.

The decision to install a Ferris wheel without an audience in Lille had, at best, made people smile, at worst, made Internet users bitch.

The absurdity of turning such a merry-go-round into a simple Christmas decoration was all the more blatant as elsewhere in the country, other large wheels had obtained permission to turn full.

This was, at least until Thursday, the case in Amiens.

Children's rides but no Ferris wheel

Contacted by

20 Minutes on

Wednesday, the prefecture of the Somme had confirmed that all the rides installed in the city center of Amiens could accommodate the public.

This is no longer possible today.

"The ornamental ferris wheel being installed on Place Léon-Gontier is not authorized to welcome the public for the moment," said the prefecture in a press release.

On the other hand, six rides for children may well open under normal conditions this weekend.

To justify its backpedaling, the prefecture of the Somme advances the same argument as that of the North, namely that a large wheel risks generating crowds of more than six people on the public highway.

Also according to the Somme prefecture, it is unlikely that such groups will form in front of children's rides.

Isolated rides are not LES

You should know that the isolated rides are not considered as establishments open to the public, the famous ERP whose reopening rules are clearly announced in the government decree framing the confinement.

Suddenly, in theory, large wheels can normally accommodate the public, subject to having a health protocol validated by the town hall.

Except that the prefects can veto if they feel that health safety requirements cannot be met.

So that's what happened in Lille and today in Amiens.

However, banning the operation of these attractions does not prevent regroupings.

This is what

20 Minutes

noted, Wednesday evening, on the Grand-place in Lille, where many people attended the lighting of the Ferris wheel.

At the next deadline, set by the Head of State for December 15, the prefectures will have the opportunity to reverse their bans.

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  • Picardy

  • Amiens

  • Fun fair

  • Confinement

  • Lille