No! The photos you see while reading the article were neither taken in the mid-afternoon nor on a holiday, but last Wednesday at the Cours Saleya market at 10 am.
At that time, in the middle of summer, it is almost difficult to make your way through because there are so many people… and stalls present. But the problem with the Cours Saleya is right there before our eyes, every morning when I go to do my shopping.
More than half of the spaces are desperately empty, and the sight of these hollowed-out niches provides an unsightly backdrop to a market that, not so long ago, buzzed with so many voices and shimmered in a thousand colors.
Today, it is undoubtedly through absences that this market, ideally located, should shine, at least as brightly as the Libération market which continues to improve and structure itself year after year.
Yet, the spectacle offered by this slow decay of the market can only be damaging to restaurateurs who thus present their patrons with only a mediocre panorama of a market listed in “must-visit” guides as one of the most beautiful markets in Nice.
“Is there a strike of the vegetable sellers?” The question a Belgian tourist asked me as she saw me photographing the market amused me initially but made me smile less as I thought about it on the way back, realizing that a strike would have indeed been preferable.
Franck Viano
