Premières estimations d'une fête du voisinage bien célébrée

The concept First estimates of a well-celebrated neighbourhood party AT THE INITIATIVE of Carl de Moncharline, to whom we owe among other things the success of the Brussels Roller parade, which is being exported to Wallonia from this summer, European Neighbours' Day took shape on Tuesday in the Brussels region with the organisation of "Immeubles en fête". The principle was very simple: to give your neighbours, those illustrious strangers, the chance to come for a drink and/or a bite to eat, in order to tighten social bonds. And apparently the concept, already applied in Paris, met with a certain success. The sunshine and the Belgian's love of the barbecue no doubt played their part. "Based on the emails received, we can estimate that there were 10,000 participants," Carl de Moncharline told us on Tuesday evening as he was visiting several of the places concerned. "Obviously, when the big buildings take part, the figure climbs quickly. In Woluwe, in particular, the concierges of a block of five large buildings organised a big reception to which they invited all the residents." It remains to be seen how many residents finally went along, even if the first soundings showed great motivation. "I have just come from a party outside a building where four people went to fetch a hundred-year-old lady who wanted to take part but lived on the 12th floor. And now I am in a place full of trees." And the hubbub on the mobile phone showed that the atmosphere there was far from flat. Another lesson: the initiative found an echo in every corner of the Region. "As much in the small streets of Molenbeek or Saint-Gilles as in the more affluent districts. Each in their own way and with their own means," according to Carl de Moncharline, who mentions the initiative of that BBL manager (oops, ING) who invited his whole neighbourhood into the garden of his Uccle property. Everything therefore looked set fair, and for the cautious who were waiting to see how it went, or who simply were not aware of it, there was almost no doubt left about the organisation of a second edition. In France, where it has existed since 1999 starting from Paris, the party can now count on 2 million participants, practically twice the population of our capital. Something to dream about, isn't it? P.D.G.