Experiencing a Dunkirk Carnival bande
At Dunkirk Carnival, a bande isn't a group of friends: it's the parade itself. Thousands of carnavaleux in clet'ches, arm in arm, follow the music for three to five hours through the streets, alternating between quiet walking, wild chahuts and songs bellowed in chorus. Here's how it works, and how to make the most of it, even the first time round.
A day in the life of a bande
On bande day, the party starts long before the off. From the morning, the avant-bande warms up the streets: the giants come out, the first tunes strike up, the chapelles open their doors. After the rigodon, the après-bande takes over until the evening ball.
In recent years, the fishermen's bande has set off on Sunday at 3 pm, outside the café Le Poisson Rouge on boulevard Sainte-Barbe, when Cô Boont'che gives the signal. The route is confirmed by the city a few days ahead each year.
All along the route, the bande stops off at chapelles, singing and chahuting, then comes the herring throw at the town hall around 5 pm, and finally the closing rigodon in the evening.
The clique, the drum major and the chasse-nèches
Everything starts with the music. Out in front walks the drum major, in an Empire-era grenadier's uniform: he leads the bande, chooses the route and gives the signal for each chahut. In Dunkirk that's Cô Boont'che; in Malo, Goliath VIII. Beside him walks the cantinière, also in Napoleonic costume. She keeps the Cô and the musicians refreshed all along the route, and there's a real bond between them all. Behind them comes the clique itself: drums, fifes, brass and bass drums, all in yellow oilskins.
Out in front, in blue oilskins, walk the chasse-nèches. Their job: keep anyone lagging behind moving, and watch over everyone's safety. Long a men-only role, it's now open to women too.
The chahut
During the bande, the music alternates. When the fifes play, everyone walks quietly, arm in arm. Then the brass and drums take over, and it's chahut time: the front line, made up of big, experienced carnavaleux, braces to hold the crowd back, while the rows behind push and jump, singing at the top of their lungs. You push with your chest, never with your hands in the back of the person in front. If you want out, shout "Sortie!" and you'll be let through. If someone falls, everyone shouts "Chute!", the lines freeze and the person is helped straight back up. The chahut happens in the bandes, at the herring throw, at the closing rigodon, and in the balls too, where every hour ends with a big chahut moment.
Three ways to experience the bande
Behind the front lines, for the chahut. If you want to chahut, your spot is behind the front lines. And it chahuts hard back there: you're packed in on every side, and sometimes your feet leave the ground as the crowd carries you along. Even at 100 kilos, it can happen to you! It's a one-of-a-kind feeling, which is why people come back for it every year. But if the crush gets too much, don't hesitate: shout "Sortie!" and let yourself be guided to the edge.
In front of the clique, as a family. There's another way to experience the bande: right in front of the clique. This spot, at the very front, belongs to families and to those who want to enjoy the music without the chahut. One golden rule though: you never chahut in front of the clique. Many visitors assume they can form a front line here too, but absolutely not! That would block the music, and at carnival, nobody is allowed to stop the drum major, the cantinière and the clique from moving forward. If a chasse-nèche asks you to move along, do it: they're the ones keeping the bande's pace.
On the pavement, as a spectator. You can also simply watch the bande go by, sing along, and join in whenever you feel ready. For a first time, or with children, start in front of the clique or off to the side: you'll enjoy the music and the atmosphere without the pressure.
The herring throw
On the Sunday of the Trois Joyeuses, the bande stops in front of Dunkirk town hall. From the balcony, the mayor and guests throw close to 500 kilos of wrapped smoked herrings down into the crowd, a tradition born in 1962 in memory of the Iceland fishermen. Catching your own kipper is a point of pride.
Keep an eye on the balcony: mixed in with the flying kippers, the mayor also throws a few plastic lobsters. The tradition dates back to mayor Michel Delebarre, whom the crowd used to chant at, playing on his name and the French word for lobsters (homards) to rhyme with the older chant for kippers. Catching a lobster is the ultimate trophy, one people keep for good.
Elsewhere, every bande has its own version: dried fish in Saint-Pol-sur-Mer and Rosendaël, cheese and sausage in Bergues, violets in Malo.
The rigodon and the Cantate à Jean Bart
Every bande ends with the rigodon: for close to an hour, the carnavaleux chahut round and round the bandstand where the clique plays through the carnival's whole repertoire. In Dunkirk it's held at the foot of Jean Bart's statue; in Malo, on place Turenne, facing the sea. Then comes the most moving moment: the Hommage au Cô, followed by the Cantate à Jean Bart. The carnavaleux hold hands, kneel down, hats off, and sing for the privateer, the city's hero. Even without knowing the words, you'll get chills.
At the rigodon, as at the herring throw, the chahut runs very, very strong: the crowd is so packed that at times it feels like there's no way out! That's part of why it stays with you for life. If you're not comfortable with crowds, stay around the edge of the square: you'll sing just as loudly, with room to breathe. And agree on a meeting point away from the square with anyone you're with before you dive in.
The golden rules of the bande
- Come in costume, or at least made up: it's the price of admission to the bande.
- In the lines, everyone links elbows, right across the width of the street.
- You push with your chest, never with your hands.
- "Sortie!" to get out, "Chute!" if someone falls.
- You never chahut in front of the clique.
- No glass in the bande: cans and cups only.
- Carnival isn't a drinking contest: a carnavaleux who's had too much puts the people around them at risk.
- No flares or firecrackers.
- Don't bend down suddenly in the crowd to pick something up.
Gearing up for the chahut
A tip from the carnavaleux: in the chahut, it's easy to lose a shoe. And a lost shoe brings your carnival to a screeching halt. When it happens in the bande, carnavaleux throw it high in an arc, so it can be seen, towards the edge of the street, so its owner can find it again. Better to avoid that altogether: go for lace-up boots, tied firmly. Same goes for hats: fit a chin strap or some way of securing it, or it will fly off at the first chahut. The full carnavaleux kit is here.
And after the bande, where do you sleep?
Loucé and Adélise are at 37 rue de la Colline, 150 metres from place Turenne where the Malo bande ends its rigodon, and five minutes from the Kursaal. After the rigodon or the ball, it's a walk home.