Toulouse: will the opening of the Saint-Michel festival be postponed?
The showmen and the town hall of Toulouse have agreed that the Saint-Michel festival will take place on the island of Ramier. But the Capitol wants the opening date, scheduled for September 16, to be postponed, the time to bring the site into compliance. Anger of the carnies who threaten to demonstrate.
Will the Saint-Michel festival open in due time on the Ile du Ramier, the new location that was negotiated between the fairgrounds and the town hall of Toulouse? Nothing seems less certain. This Wednesday, a press release from the showmen cast doubt.
“The Fédération des Forains de France questioned Cécile Dufraisse (elected in charge of fairgrounds, editor’s note) in a letter dated September 2 and raised some questions about the inventory of fixtures of this location, in particular for the reception of the public” they write in a press release.
The showmen, who have been working for several years on the Zénith car park, want the assurance that the site of the Ile du Ramier will be ready to welcome their rides. They thus wish that before September 16, the scheduled opening date, “a favorable study of the soils by an approved body; compliance with health and safety standards; operational electrical connections or the installation of supplies and water disposal etc.”
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However, in view of the requirements of the fairgrounds, the town hall of Toulouse had to have a report of the opening date in order to bring the site into compliance.
“It goes deeper that you accept the idea of postponing the opening of the carnival for a few days, if the strong technical constraints that we face contravene it” replies the town hall of Toulouse.
For the time being, the fairgrounds do not plan to postpone the opening of the festival. They even maintained their strike notice, from September 16 to October 16, with a series of actions: demonstration, blocking of the device, snail operation…
While waiting for a decision to be made, the fairgrounds are not taking off and criticize the town hall of Toulouse for its lack of anticipation: “If this project had been selected last February, as the Federation of Fairgrounds of France had envisaged, we wouldn’t be there.”