After three weeks on Place Saint-Nicolas in Bastia, the Christmas market ended on Monday December 23. This year, strong gusts of wind forced organizers to close the market several times.
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End clap for the Bastia Christmas market, open from December 6 to 23 on Place Saint-Nicolas, the 2024 edition closed this Monday. Despite a general good mood, the bad weather had a significant impact on the smooth running of the event.
Put together, the market had to be closed for almost five days, notably on Sunday December 22, due to strong gusts of wind.
“As there were quite a few days closed with the wind, people resorted to something other than the Christmas market to give gifts” saddens Guilaine, who runs an artisanal bag chalet. This Christmas market was not a success for her “Overall it was not a success, I did not find customers at my stand.” she attests.
We find this difficulty linked to the weather among the majority of exhibitors. “Last week we had a total day off, and it’s true that it’s felt, it’s making a real dent in turnover” comments Aude, who sells ceramics she makes. The weather is not the only problem according to Olivier, also an exhibitor on the market: “the economic crisis has made people very cautious when it comes to purchases, we don’t feel the lightness of previous years when people could let go a little bit, now everything is quite complicated.” he explains.
Crafts are not the most popular on the market, many, like Julia, come mainly to enjoy the atmosphere and to eat local products: “I didn't buy a gift, that's not the goal. We turn around, we look, we stop at lunchtime to buy a piece of roasted figatellu and we go” she says.
So, on the food stall side, the results are a little more positive, even if here again bad weather is on everyone's lips: “This year it was a little different due to bad weather, but when it's open in the evening there are still quite a few people, we're quite satisfied.” exclaims Rémi, installed not far from the stage to sell drinks. “I did the three weeks, we had a lot of bad weather, so a lot of closures is not easy. When the weather was good, people were there.” adds Andrea pastry chef on the Christmas market for the first time.
Like every year, the event still brought a very festive atmosphere to the city of Bastia. Exhibitors and customers now hope that the 2025 edition will be spared from bad weather.
