“We can not check them all” each time they come and go, Aubry said on French television, adding that she had a “moral responsibility” to cancel the event that draws over 1 million visitors each year.
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Lille Mayor Martine Aubry announced on Friday the cancellation of the September 3-4 flea market, which draws visitors from around France who come to shop and to eat mussels, a regional specialty. What can I say… there’s nothing we can do about it.
The Braderie de Lille, which was scheduled for September 3-4, is an iconic event dating back to the Middle Ages – a cheerful maze of more than 100 kilometres of stalls that attracted 2.5 million visitors a year ago.
“We have really tried our best, but there are risks we can not reduce”, Aubry told a news conference alongside Michel Lalande, the region’s governing head.
Aubrey’s decision has drawn criticism from some quarters, with Thierry George, the head of the northern French UMIH trade and hospitality union describing the cancellation as “incomprehensible”.
Lalande said the decision was necessary because of the “hyper-urban format (of the market) with its streets full of people”. Security plans for Lourdes’ biggest annual event were being announced next week.
The number of soldiers patrolling Marseille increased from 350 to 600 after the attack in Nice, some 200 kilometers down the coast.
“We are in a situation of war”.
“Everyone has to understand that we are in this situation and that it brings constraints”.
French officials have cancelled a major cultural event and a landmark cycling event amid fears of a terrorist strike.
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And the traditional August 15th fireworks shows have been cancelled across the country including La Baule in Brittany, the towns of Avignon, Collioure, Chambery and the Riviera resort of Cannes.
