On this sunny September morning, Avenue Malausséna is bustling with people. The neighborhood, freshly modified by the arrival of the tramway, is now pedestrian-only. It now hosts 120 merchants spread across Avenue Malausséna, on either side of the tram tracks, Boulevard Joseph Garnier, and Rue Clément Roassal to form the new Liberation Market.
At the Avenue Malausséna market, fresh fruits and vegetables are king, and small local producers offer a selection of regional products. The sea also has its realm, with eight fishmongers located at Place de la Gare du Sud. The atmosphere is bright. The stalls are packed, and the delighted customers jostle under the stands despite the difficulties in finding their way around.
Between Sun and Gloom
Smiles appear on the faces of the merchants happy to occupy these new stalls. “We are delighted with this new location. Rue Joseph Garnier was confined and dark, we didn’t have space,” says Yves Ozenda, a farmer at Place Charles de Gaulle. These changes delight florists, thrilled to see the sun, which had disappeared for too long from Rue Joseph Garnier, return.
Others remaining on Boulevard Joseph Garnier are less cheerful. Seventeen of them remain resigned and do not fail to express their disappointment. This is the case for Christiane Pallanca. “When it gets sunny, they will suffer over there. I chose to stay here, but I think I should have gone because there are more people. Here, it is way too calm.” For Jean-Claude Guidi, a retailer of local products, the situation is different; he had no choice but to go and set up under the new stalls: “The market is too divided; it needs to stay concentrated. I am now forced to sell my products at a 50% discount to attract customers.”
A Revolution
From the politicians’ side, opinions are unanimous: the market at Malausséna is a success. Patrick Allemand, the first vice-president of the PACA regional council, walked from stall to stall, shaking hands with the merchants. “If there’s one file on which I cannot criticize Mr. Estrosi, it is this one. A sustainable solution has been found, but many questions remain, particularly concerning pedestrian safety; adjustments need to be planned,” he says. For Muriel Marland-Militello, Deputy Mayor of Nice, this event is a success, “the market takes back its historic place, it’s a revolution in the neighborhood.”
After several years of ups and downs, the page has finally turned, and the life of the neighborhood resumes its course. The Liberation Market is indeed back.
