It was necessary to go through the prefect's arbitration to resolve the dispute between the fairground workers and the town hall. The State representative went so far as to requisition the Ikea square in Saint Isidore that these fairground artisans coveted. The 80 attractions of the municipal fair have now been installed there for a week.
Et “it changes everything”according to Sébastien Cicero, the spokesperson for the fifty fairground families concerned.
“Here, unlike the MIN, access is completely free. There are no obstacles for people who want to come and see us. Most of the surrounding parking lots are even free. We are in the middle of a commercial area. “
“30 to 40% more revenue”
“It's day and night”, Sébastien Cicero slice. And this would already be felt in turnover.
Despite a difficult first day due to a match at the Allianz stadium, it announced revenues up by “30% to 40% each opening day compared to last year at the MIN”…
“Even if it’s still 20 to 30% less than what we did in the city center,” deplores the fairground representative who does not despair of returning there one day.
Threatened by the Olympics
Because these itinerants know that their victory against the town hall should last little more than 2 or 3 years. The land which welcomes them today is supposed to eventually become an ice rink in the run-up to the 2030 Winter Olympics. When construction begins, even the prefect will no longer be able to keep them there.
This is why the fairgrounds intend to maintain dialogue with the municipality to which they have proposed regular working commissions.
Meetings every 3 months to finally find a lasting solution… And why not a return of the municipal festival to the city center.
“Perhaps on several sites”pleads Sébastien Cicero.
Port, Garibaldi and/or green flow
The representative of the fairgrounds evokes the port as well as Place Garibaldi, even the Promenade du Paillon in the continuity of the Christmas village.
According to him, the town hall objected to the fragility of the soil and the problem of the water mirror. Obstacles that the fairground representative does not consider insurmountable. He intends to demonstrate this with supporting studies and by highlighting what is being done elsewhere in the world, “especially in London”.
“In any case we will not give up,” he promises. “The important thing was that there was no blank year for the Nice fair” and above all to perpetuate this “centuries-old tradition” which weighs heavily in the activity of these itinerant traders. Up to 30% of their annual turnover.
