At the Halles de Wazemmes, in Lille, excitement reigns this morning of December 24. Between endless queues and a festive atmosphere, latecomers rush to make their last purchases before New Year's Eve. With little tips to save time, everyone organizes themselves to transform this race against time into a convivial moment.
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Christmas shopping on D-Day remains a well-established habit: two out of three French people do it on December 24. And when you're shopping for a meal a few hours before New Year's Eve, you have to expect to deal with other latecomers. This Tuesday morning, at the Halles de Wazemmes, in Lille, many customers were queuing at the merchants.
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“It's always like that… When you want good products, it's inevitable”, smiles a customer in front of the bakery. The good mood of the Christmas holidays makes up for the hassle of last-minute shopping. And as a family, we keep smiling, as this grandfather points out, bag of vegetables in hand: “We waited in line. But hey, I was with my grandson so straight away, it's nicer.”
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Others, less philosophical and more strategist, have their techniques to save a few minutes. “We came at 9 a.m. so as not to queue”, explains one. “I did the biggest shopping at the start of the week”, specifies another. “Since there were four of us, we divided up the roles”, says a third. “Everyone formed a small queue. It was smart to save time.”
Faced with the influx of customers, merchants also had to anticipate. “We just came very early this morning to start ordering. We did everything in advance: setting up the department, doing all our preparations”explains a young butcher. “We are still making some because there are still things to do. All our orders are already in the fridge to be ready when customers arrive.”
On the other side of the stall, a woman looks in a hurry. “I came to pick up an order of white pudding. I didn't have time to do it yesterday. And this afternoon, I'm going to the cinema with the little ones so it's a bit of a race… But that's okay!”
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In front of the fishmonger, the greengrocer or the rotisserie… The queues are an opportunity to think about good recipes for the evening! “With the quails… What do I have planned?”, remembers a woman in her sixties. “Small potatoes, dauphine potatoes! And then green beans because afterwards, we have a big appetizer.” Something to enjoy and please all the guests.
Lucie Lascot
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