After a 2020 edition truncated by the virus and a blank year in 2021, the event, which celebrated its 137th edition, found a delighted audience.

And all the more so since this traditional meeting, the first edition of which dates back to 1873, is one of the three most important in the world with those of Rio de Janeiro and Venice, and above all one of the rare carnivals in be held this year.

The 5,000 privileged people who had reserved their seats in time, free of charge, were able to attend the opening ceremony, seated in the bleachers, which opened to the sound of batucadas and fireworks.

Some of the floats from the flower battles or the carnival parade then paraded, followed by the troupes of dancers and all the volunteers or professionals involved in the event.

And for those who hadn't been able to reserve their place, all that remained was to hoist themselves up on tiptoe to see the king of the carnival, a giant perched on a Nice eagle as a throne.

In the afternoon, Nice and tourists took advantage of the installation, for the first time, of a carnival village, to have fun with the family.

Parade of the 137th carnival in Nice, February 11, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP

"It's nice that the carnival is coming back, it's emblematic of the city", noted Justine Airaut, who came with her 5-year-old little Hector dressed as an cosmonaut: "It's the first time he's come to the carnival, the last year I was disappointed not to be able to bring him there".

3D virtual tour

"Yes, last year, I missed the carnival, but like many things", remarks Patrick Louis, a 59-year-old retiree from Nice who came to experience a virtual tour behind the scenes of the manufacture of floats using 3D glasses, killing time while waiting for her granddaughter to come back from the make-up workshop.

If, according to him, the carnival of today is no longer like that of his youth, "a family celebration where we took the children and where we walked in 20 to 30 centimeters of confetti on the avenue Jean- Doctor", "it's still good for the city, even if today it's more of a tourist show".

Invited by the city to parade with their funny hats and clogs on their feet, Belgian revelers from La Louvière did not hide their happiness either.

"It's an honor to be here, a source of pride, and at the same time, putting on the costume makes us happy after a two-year hiatus," said Maurizio Vernino, from the royal society of Gilles de Bouvy, who came with nearly 100 compatriots on the Côte d'Azur.

In Belgium, their carnival, which takes place on March 27, has been canceled for the last two editions and is not yet certain to take place this year.

A queen of the 137th Carnival of Nice parades for the opening ceremony of the festivities, February 11, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP

In Nice, the carnival, which usually brings together 200,000 spectators, will only be able, gauge obliges, to accommodate 85,000 paying spectators this year, specified Magali Altounian, deputy mayor in charge of outreach: "But the kick-off is successful, we wanted to party, we had been deprived of it for two years and there we will finally be able to have fun and find ourselves”, welcomed the chosen one.

A large security system, with 200 national police officers and 90 municipal police officers, has been mobilized to ward off, said Mayor Christian Estrosi, "any threat against property and people" while also ensuring "health security" with, as much as possible in such a festive event, minimal respect for barrier gestures.

© 2022 AFP