IN PICTURES. The January 1st ball transports La Rochelle to the Roaring Twenties in music

Hosted by the Princes of LR, the New Year’s ball brought together several thousand people, despite the cold, at the foot of the St-Nicolas tower.

They started the year with a bang. This Wednesday, January 1, thousands of spectators and dancers participated in an annual ball, organized for the eighth time in La Rochelle, in the Old Port. Despite the fatigue of New Year’s Eve, the cold and the thick fog, the party was wild.

“Great atmosphere, with the children, we love coming to see the fanfare, and then we introduce them to music“, smiles a regular. She is not the only one to have come with her children, because if the theme of the evening was the Roaring Twenties, in the 20th century, all generations were present.

“I’m all alone, my husband hasn’t come, but there’s my grandson with meadds a spectator, between two dance steps. I love it, it’s a good start to the year.”

To set the evening on fire, it was the Princes de LR fanfare which started the first notes. “The spirit was to have fun, and to celebrate the year 2025 with music, as we know how to do, explains Justin Helie, the president of the troop. We are in constant interaction with the public, without them, we cannot perform“.

They were then followed by the David Rolland dance company and musicians from The Sassy Swingers, to immerse themselves in the 1920s.

And the public can also eat for free. “There is mulled wine, served by municipal services, and briochedetails the mayor of La Rochelle, Jean-François Fountaine. It’s to close this party sequence, and to get together and say Happy New Year to each other.“.