Flyers on windshields and announcements of disruptions at tram stations portend the storm to come this Thursday, March 28 in the streets of Caen.
The student carnival, presented as the largest in Europe, will take over the city center.
“We’re looking forward to it.
It’s THE day for all students, from all sectors and even from other cities,” enthuse Mathilde and Alice, who wouldn’t miss the event for anything in the world.
And too bad if a few courses are collateral victims.
“We meet up with friends at 2 p.m., an hour before the parade starts.
Then we will follow the movement to the exhibition center,” add the two young women, already familiar with this giant party with 35,000 guests last year.
Despite two attendance records in a row and, each time, a human tide of all colors, the Caen student carnival does not arouse as much fervor among the traders located along the route.
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Below campus 1, in his university bar, Franck has been in the front row for several years: "it's a day where we work less, which we don't really like, even if we watch the parade go by and that it contributes to the influence of the city.
The students all already have their alcohol.
» The logistics of the carnivals do not favor the drinking establishments in the city center.
“The bottles are in the backpacks,” smiles Louise, “at the Café atelier.
Last year, we opened at 11 a.m. and didn't see anyone until 5 p.m.
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The carnival somehow freezes the economic activity of the center.
“Parking is a problem.
The parade route is blocked.
People in town don’t come,” explains Hugo, waiter at the Le Balthazar bar.
Not far from there, a bakery makes the same prediction and does not expect to benefit from the wave of revelers, despite being located very close to the course.
During the day, there is no need for professionals to have too many hopes.
Mathilde, the student, confirms this herself: “We won’t go to bars.”
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Since 2014, the procession has ended its march at the exhibition center, in order to be better supervised.
A good number of participants spend the evening there, punctuated by concerts.
But there will also be many of them “going back to the city”.
“Around 5 p.m., we will start to have people,” projects Laurent, owner of the Solidor Tower, in rue Écuyère, a famous Caen bars street, very student-friendly.
“It will be a big Thursday evening, we will work hard,” slips the one who is strengthening his team for the occasion.
The question, on the other hand, will be the state of a clientele “who will have had quite a few drinks before,” smiles a bartender.
“We will especially pay attention to ages.
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Despite the constraints, the student carnival “does not bother”.
“It’s once a year and it’s part of the life of Caen.
It’s nice, it gets the city moving,” says Stéphanie, a resident of the center.
Being the largest student carnival in Europe is even a “little bit of pride” for Manon and Léa.
The latter admits to being afraid of crowd movements but welcomes an extraordinary atmosphere.
To blend into the atmosphere and try to take advantage of it, the team at the bar-restaurant “Et si”, just opened near the university, is preparing to “play the game”, with a special menu: “Sausage pancakes for €5, rolled up to be practical to eat.”
A meal to eat on the go at the end of the morning, before watching the parade at the beginning of the afternoon.
The start of a wave that will sweep over Caen until the night.