Producers in the North have gradually started selling mussels on their stalls, ahead of the big Lille flea market which will take place on 14 and 15 September.
The Grande Braderie de Lille is approaching, and the traditional mussel sales have already started in the North. Ten days before the deadline, in the Auchan hypermarket in Leers for example, nearly four tons of mussels are being offered to customers this week ahead of the flagship event in the Lille metropolitan area.
“It’s the North, that’s it, it’s French traditions,” smiles this customer encountered near the fish stalls of the hypermarket. “Every year when we come across it, when we like it, it’s true that it’s tempting,” concedes another customer.
Tons of mussels
This year, the Lille flea market has been postponed to mid-September due to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
This did not prevent the fishmonger in the northern store from starting to sell shellfish, where nearly 20 tonnes are sold each year before the Big Sale.
“In weeks like this, we’re around three to four tonnes per week. It then increases little by little, and we hope to reach ten tonnes during the week of the sale,” describes Ivan, sales manager in the fish market at Auchan in Leers.
Less than four euros per kilo for bulk mussels
In the North, the big flea market and its traditional mussel sales are undoubtedly one of the most anticipated moments of the year.
As Antoine Dupont, head of fresh produce sales at the hypermarket, explains, “our customers like to eat mussels at this time of year, because it’s important in the North, mussels and chips being a traditional dish.”
Compared to the previous year, the price of mussels has also dropped. Per kilo, the customer pays on average two euros less than in 2023. “We already have bouchot mussels at 3.99 euros per kilo in bulk, so these are really interesting prices for quality mussels,” says Antoine Dupont.
Prices which, according to him, can be explained by a drop in energy prices, a trend which has a direct impact on the prices offered in fishmongers.
More than 60% of the annual volume of mussels is sold during the week of the flea market in supermarkets. So this year again, to enjoy the legendary moules frites, the date is set for September 14 and 15 in the streets of the capital of Flanders.
Julie Michel, Clement Polin, Alexis Lalemant
