Dunkerque, city in the extreme north of France where the carnival is an institution.
Three years in a row, I followed the bands of the 3 Joyeuses (Dunkerque, Citadelle and Rosendaël), the band of Petite Synthe and the band of Malo. It was an amazing adventure, sometimes surreal and often wet.
The carnival begins in winter and lasts for several weeks during which the inhabitants put on their Cletch’ (disguise) and free their body and mind. The corsair Jean Bart and the drum-major Cô-Pinard II are celebrated with a lot of warmth. Each district of the city has its “bande” (musical band driven by a drum-major) behind which the “carnavaleux” parade.
