Christmas market in Toulouse: the sad record of exhibitors in the chalets on the outskirts of the Capitol
By Nina Hossein-Zadeh
Published on
2022 was to be a year of recovery. After the yellow vests and the Covid-19, traders and craftsmen were impatiently awaiting the Toulouse Christmas market. Total disappointment for some of them. In question: a new layout of the chalets wanted by the town hall. The small wooden houses were dispersed in six districts of the city. From the Capitol to the Ramblas via Square Charles de Gaulle and Allées Jules Guesde, exhibitors are not in the same boat.
Between 6,000 and 8,000 euros to settle in the square
To get your place on the emblematic Place du Capitole, you have to pay between 6,000 and 8,000 euros, says a designer of jewelry in macramé braiding placed in the Charles de Gaulle square. “It is not possible for us. Here, on the peripheral chalets, we pay 250 euros per week and we have the possibility of splitting it in two. »
If the price indicates the location, it is not the latter that is of concern. Gérard Ectoyle, wood craftsman based on the Ramblas is delighted to be there. “I think it’s very good, I’m satisfied. In addition, it’s a place of passage“, he says. The problem is elsewhere.
A lack of communication
“It was badly sold explains”, Gérard Ectoyle, “he should have indicated better. And then for Toulouse residents, the Christmas market is at the Capitole”. For all the exhibitors installed in the outlying districts of the Place du Capitole, the same story applies.
Richard Boutin, ceramist installed on the Jules Guesde alleys, regrets “the lack of communication” from the town hall. Nevertheless, this market near the Toulouse Museum is a bit different since it “is based on a social and solidarity economy and is managed by the ICR and the Uni Solidaires association”.
Another problem: the townspeople were not informed of the rotation of the tradesmen. Indeed, to ensure that each of them can sell, a rotation system has been put in place. “People come, they walk around and think they can come back a few days later to buy. Then they discover that we are not there”, assures the craftsman on wood.
For the year 2022, these vendors paint a sad picture of the Christmas market. A few days from the end, they made few sales. “There are customers, they come by, but they don’t buy,” confirms Matthieu Daldosso, wood craftsman. For the last week, he hopes for a noticeable change, as was the case last year.
City Hall’s response
On the side of the town hall, it is the big surprise. “Toulouse City Hall and the organizer of the Toulouse Christmas Market have implemented a large number of communication actions to make this new organization known to the different locations of the Christmas markets”, she explains to Toulouse News.
Campaign by means of posters, printing and distribution of cards, articles in the municipal magazine, website or publications on social networks, the town hall claims to have done everything possible. On social networks, other posts to come are planned “on all the festivities”.
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