Mulled wine, pretzels and more than 300 chalets: the Strasbourg Christmas market opened on Wednesday, with, like every year, a very large crowd expected, requiring new security measures.
“There is always a little bit of impatience and curiosity, to see if everything that has been worked on all year will meet with the expected success,” admitted the mayor (EELV) of the city, Jeanne Barseghian, who came meet the exhibitors at the opening of the market.
“A few hours ago, a power outage made us particularly stressed, but now we can't wait to get back to the atmosphere and the customers, like every year,” smiles a few meters away Éric Bodein, 48, from the inside his chalet.
While mixing a barrel of mulled wine, the merchant nevertheless regrets the late start of the festivities compared to previous years, due to the celebrations last weekend of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of the city and the announcement of the pantheonization next from Marc Bloch, historian and resistance fighter. “We start on a Wednesday and finish on December 27, i.e. a Friday, so in the end we lose two working weekends, which are the days when we receive the most customers,” he laments.
While waiting to collect their pretzels, Batmas and Acar, two Turkish students aged 20 and 23, are delighted to have taken advantage of a few days of vacation to visit the Christmas capital. “As soon as we enter an aisle of the market, we are immersed in the world of Christmas and it is a comforting atmosphere, particularly pleasant, especially after these few days of cold,” explains Batmas.
“Strasbourg belongs to tourists and not to its inhabitants”
An opinion that Anne Gelsey, 82, a long-time resident of Strasbourg, is far from sharing: “As soon as the Christmas market opens, Strasbourg belongs to tourists and not to its inhabitants, who must adapt their entire daily life to security measures during a month,” underlines the retiree.
With 3.3 million visitors last year, the Strasbourg Christmas market is raising security concerns, which are unlikely to be allayed after the announcement on Wednesday of a strike notice of the city's municipal police until December 18.
“Discourses and actions are two different worlds”, point out the unions in a press release, deploring a lack of action in the face of their demands “concerning an increase in the compensation system and an improvement in retirement conditions”.
One way for pedestrians on weekends
For the 2024 edition, which should once again see streams of French and foreign tourists arrive, the system has been adapted. It follows recommendations from the National Directorate of Public Security made this summer, which particularly target particularly crowded areas. On Saturday and Sunday, a one-way pedestrian traffic flow will be established in certain streets while an area intended for dining will be removed on Place Kléber, in the very center, where a majestic 31 m high fir tree sits.
And for the duration of the market, access to the cathedral, a major tourist attraction, will only be via the south facade to better distribute the flow of visitors.
In the event of very high traffic – which will be monitored in real time by the police, supported by drones – additional measures may be taken such as the closure of pedestrian bridges or the establishment of a single direction of traffic in certain areas. streets. Motorists are invited to park in park and ride facilities, which offer more than 14,200 spaces, and to reach the city center by public transport.
No QR codes, “a popular, festive event”
The possibility of setting up QR codes to be presented, as during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, to circulate in the city center has, however, been ruled out: the aim is to “preserve the spirit of Christmas” and “keep an event popular, festive, open to all,” Jeanne Barseghian underlined on Tuesday.
On December 11, 2018, the Strasbourg market was devastated by an attack committed by Cherif Chekatt, a radicalized young man, who killed five people and injured 11 others in the crowded streets of the city center.
More than a thousand people are once again mobilized to ensure security on the Big Island, the very center of Strasbourg.
This year, the theme chosen is “time to marvel”, with an emphasis on tales and stories, resonating with the World Book Capital event, a UNESCO label awarded to the Alsatian capital for 2024.
