A blinding sun beats down on the imposing towers of the Robespierre slab in Vitry, and from their windows a few residents observe what is happening below.
A whirlwind, specific to food markets with for the conductor of the day a man that everyone knows here: the rapper Mokobé.
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"I lived there," points out the "Vitriot of the heart", pointing to one of the buildings in the neighborhood.
It was "obvious" for him to bring there the "solidarity market" which took place on Saturday.
"Everyone is welcome"
An initiative launched last month in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) by the NGO Human Appeal and the Hmarket brand and whose goal is to help those who need it, without conditions, but also to offer them social or administrative support.
For Vitry, it was the former member of 113 who came to pick them up, with the logistical help of the city.
On Saturday, around thirty people lined up an hour after the opening of this market, some arriving directly from the one in the city center, one of the most important in the department.
Mokobé, who grew up near the Robespierre slab, brought a new edition of the “solidarity market” to the foot of the towers.
LP / FD
"Everyone is welcome", summarizes Mokobé, referring to these "families on the brink" because of the health and economic crisis.
The people who showed up were able to make a free food package: drinks, dairy products, dry products, etc.
“We have a social component, and the goal is to fight against food waste.
We hope that this will be able to encourage other groups, ”explains Atika, from the H Market brand.
In Vitry, the organizers of the solidarity market decided to add administrative and legal support with the OSAA association which had received around twenty people on Saturday in one hour.
"Everything is good to take"
Two bags filled at her feet, Catherine, a resident of the Plateau, focused on the food part.
A vitriote for almost 40 years, she describes a period of great financial distress since last year, despite having a job.
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Affected by the Covid-19, she explains having "a lot of after-effects" including on the psychological level.
In short, it was already not the party and the virus ended it.
"An idea like that helps a lot", assures this woman who knows Mokobé for having already met him in Vitry.
"It is the city
(Editor's note: of the department)
where there are the most inhabitants", recalls the latter, 95,105 according to the official legal population 2018.
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And therefore potentially more people to help.
Thursday, on the market square, the city decided to facilitate once again the arrival of producers from the north of France who crisscross the Ile-de-France to sell their potatoes at cost price.
"Everything is good to take, given what awaits us", cowardly, annoyed, this mother in the line at the entrance to the Robespierre slab.
On December 5 in Bobigny, the initiative had reached 450 inhabitants.
In Vitry, 500 people were expected during the day.
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