It was 8:33 p.m. that evening in Saint-Denis when a song in Arabic rang out under the white marquee installed during the month of Ramadan. This is the signal for iftar, the breaking of the fast: spontaneously, dozens of people, almost all of them men, attack their chorba, a traditional North African soup, or a pasta dish.
This Saturday marked one of the last Ramadan Tables before the end of the holy month for Muslims. This must end this Tuesday or Wednesday with the festival of Eid-el-Fitr. The last four weeks have seen up to 1,500 people parade each evening under this marquee set up by Secours Islamique France (SIF), near the Porte-de-Paris metro station. This is around 30% more than last year, according to the NGO, which organizes and finances this operation using financial or food donations.
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