"It's an immense pleasure and a relief": at 78, Jean-Pierre Povigna is the head of one of the four Nice families of "carnavaliers" who have the privilege of building the floats.

Supreme honor, with his two sons Joseph and Pierre, his daughters-in-law and his grandsons, he completed the construction of the two most prominent floats, those of the king and the queen of the festival, respectively the Nice red eagle and the +Ratapignata+, a bat, a lesser known but very important animal in regional iconography.

The two floats will participate Friday from 6:30 p.m. in the opening ceremony of the carnival, in front of the stands installed on Place Masséna, in the heart of the city.

Then, beyond the big parade, which will bring together around twenty floats on Saturday, this event will be the occasion, until February 27, of flower battles, a "nissarde" parade, with floats imagined and made by associations of the city, and of course of the election of the King and the Queen of the carnival.

Jean-Pierre Povigna, head of one of the four Nice families of "carnavaliers" who have the privilege of building the tanks, on February 7, 2022 in Nice Valery HACHE AFP

This festive event, whose first edition dates back to 1873, is one of the three most important in the world with those of Rio de Janeiro and Venice and one of the rare carnivals to be held this year.

But imperative condition for spectators: present a vaccination pass.

In Brazil, carnival parades in Rio and Sao Paulo, scheduled for late February, have been postponed until April due to the new wave of Covid-19 infections.

In both cities the street carnival was simply canceled.

Effigies stored in a workshop before the Nice carnival, February 7, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP

In Venice, the carnival kicked off on Monday, but in a Covid version, largely virtual and without the usual crowds of tourists.

In France, the city of Dunkirk (North) announced on Monday the cancellation for the second consecutive year of its famous street carnival.

160,000 spectators in 2020

"The Carnival is an important moment for the life of our city. I wanted to perpetuate this tradition in order to support the revelers, traders, restaurateurs and hoteliers who have experienced two particularly difficult years", explained Wednesday to AFP the mayor (ex-LR) of Nice Christian Estrosi.

In accordance with government announcements on the gradual lifting of health restrictions, "we can hope to welcome nearly 85,000 spectators", he added, specifying that the hotels "almost all have an occupancy rate close to previous editions".

A welder works on assembling a float before the Nice carnival, February 7, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP

For the city councilor of Nice, "this will undoubtedly represent essential economic benefits for the local economy in a situation which remains difficult for the trade, hotel and restaurant sectors in particular".

The carnival is in fact a real breath of fresh air for the local economy, with its 1,400 direct jobs and its 30 million euros in economic benefits in a normal year.

In 2020, there were 160,000 spectators and more than 200,000 in 2019.

Before the 2021 edition canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the last cancellation of the Nice Carnival dates back to 1991 and the Gulf War.

In addition to the battles of flowers and the famous big heads, including those, presidential election obliges, of the candidates Eric Zemmour, Valérie Pécresse or Marine Le Pen, the 2022 edition welcomes for the first time a foreign carnival with the Belgian troupe of the "Gilles de la Louvière", with their huge hats, their colorful costumes and their clogs.

U Valery HACHE AFP/Archives

And since the carnival honors animals, a prestigious hotel chain in Nice goes so far as to set up a welcome "entirely dedicated to doggies", with small special attentions for them.

© 2022 AFP