Christmas Market Cancelled as Organisers Couldn’t Afford €20,000 Anti-Terror Barrier Bill

The Christmas market on la Croix-Rousse hill in Lyon, France, has been cancelled because organisers cannot afford the €20,000 security budget.

The annual Christmas market, with its stalls, marquee, and farm animals, has been cancelled because the cost of securing the site day and night was prohibitively expensive, whilst towns and cities across Europe are fortifying their Christmas markets with anti-terror barriers, reports Le Progrés.

“For the past year, requests to secure our events have increased,” explained Maïlys, the project manager for the southern French city’s merchants’ association.

“This year the cost of security would have reached nearly €20,000 (£17,600/$23,800). To at least balance our budget, we could have either increased the number of stands or the rental price of the sites (from €2,000 to €3,000 per week). The decision to cancel the 2017 market was a complicated and difficult one to take, but no solution could be found, despite our discussions with the town hall.”

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Some citizens of Germany have reacted to the appearance of the blocks in their communities by painting “Danke Merkel” (‘Thank you, Merkel”) or “Merkel Lego” on the “unwrapped” anti-terror gifts, in reference to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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