Nice market forces operate around a revolutionary icon
It was just another Sunday market for the 80 or so merchants on Place Garibaldi in the center of Nice, but for many tourists and rugby fans it was an opportunity to bask in the sun and to embrace Provençal life in a square dedicated to one of the city’s most famous. revolutionary sons.
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Nice’s market par excellence, for flowers but also for fruits and vegetables, takes place on the Cours Saleya, a little over three kilometers away, by the sea.
But back in the square honoring the man behind Italian unification in the 19th century, artisans offer a dazzling array of handmade hats, clothing and jewelry. Others offer shoes, sandals and woodworking.
“It takes me about an hour and a half to two hours to put this together,” Bella Tendero said, pointing to a toiletry bag at her booth that also offers soaps made with natural oils. “Zippers are difficult to put in place. It takes a lot of effort.”
A few meters away, Eri Takayama and Anju Hirakawa were looking for other souvenirs after purchasing a ring and a bracelet respectively.
Takayama, who is studying French in Nice with the aim of becoming a kindergarten teacher, said she was shopping with her friend before returning home to prepare for the match.
Fan
“I watched the matches on television,” added the 29-year-old from Tokyo.
“And obviously I’m excited to have the chance to see the game live.”
Japan and England both won their first match of the 2023 tournament.
Japan crushed debutant Chile 42-12 in Toulouse last Sunday, while England defied poor recent form and the third-minute sending-off of striker Tom Curry to beat Argentina 27-10 in Marseille on September 9.
Hirakawa, 23, said she would skip Sunday night’s match to prepare for a trip to Italy before returning to study in Lyon.
There was no chance Sharon Lewis would miss the match at the Allianz Riviera.
Game
The 54-year-old, who owns a cafe just outside Exeter in the west of England, admitted she was more of a supporter of Exeter City football club than the Exeter Chiefs rugby team.
But she had been saving for four years to travel to France with a group of friends.
“There were 14 of us at one point,” said the mother of two as she headed from the market to one of the nearby cafes lining the late 18th-century square housing some of the city’s most palatial apartments. city.
“But now we are down to six, although two more will join us for the match in Lille against Chile.”
The six were spread out around a cafe table, looking tanned and relaxed.
And in addition to recounting the horror of lax security and difficult access to the match in Marseille, they all waxed lyrical about the places where they had stayed and the atmosphere that reigned in the country.
“I just think it was very bad in Marseille,” Lewis added. “I really thought twice about coming to the match in Nice,” she added.
“The rest of France has been wonderful. It’s been great. We’ve been to Monaco, we’ve been to different places and it’s been incredible.”
The next market was scheduled for October. “We would like to come every week,” Tendero said.
But looking up at the well-washed windows and apartments overlooking the square, she added: “There are people who don’t want us too much… they don’t want any noise.”
Well, at least they’re united on that.
euronews
