DUNKERQUE CARNIVAL - From 01/23/2010 to 03/06/2010

Carnivals throughout the world have a religious character, limited to the end of Lent. Not here, or at least not very much, where there are hundreds of them throughout the year.

The most famous, the nosiest, the most mental, but also the oldest, is the Dunkerque Carnival. For weeks on end, groups called fisherbands take the measure of each other, confront each other with sarabands and songs, disperse and liven up the town, and finally come together in one huge choir to celebrate their sailors, honour Jean Bart, and claim, with body and voice, their herrings thrown from the top of the belfry.

If you’ve never done Carnival here, you’ve never seen a real carnival !