"Heartbreaking" for the mayor of Lille, the decision to cancel the traditional Lille clearance sale at the beginning of September is dictated by "the necessary continuation of the vaccination which has not yet reached a sufficient level, as well as the arrival of new variants ". However, there will always be a clearance sale of traders and other events, she says.

No Lille clearance sale this year! Mayor Martine Aubry announced Tuesday in city council the cancellation of this event bringing together hundreds of thousands of people, initially scheduled for September 4 and 5, "as a precaution" in the face of uncertainties related to the evolution of the Covid pandemic. 19. This decision, a "heartbreak", is dictated by "the necessary continuation of the vaccination which has not yet reached a sufficient level, as well as the arrival of new variants", a context which "causes a lot of uncertainties. ", said at the same time the mayor in a press release.

Martine Aubry explained to have taken this decision "jointly" with the prefect of the North and to have waited "at the latest" to decide.

"Perhaps we could hope that the vaccination rate would be even higher and perhaps we also weren't waiting for the variants that are already in our region today, especially those for which we have the most. worry because we have the most uncertainty, ”she stressed.

Already canceled in 2020

The event, considered the largest clearance sale in Europe and whose previous editions have attracted up to 2.5 million visitors from all over France and abroad, was already canceled last year due to health crisis. 

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In 2016, it was canceled due to the terrorist threat after the July 14 attack in Nice.

In 2021, "there will always be a merchant clearance sale, the Comic Strip clearance sale at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, cultural events throughout the weekend" underlined Martine Aubry on Tuesday.