Flower parades and carnivals on the French Riviera

Le Lavandou Flower parade March, 2025La londe Carnival March, 2025Bormes Corso February 2025Cavalaire Corso du Mimosa February 2025Sainte-Maxime Corso du mimosa February 2025Nice Carnival February - March, 2025 “King of the Seas and Oceans”Menton 91th lemon festival February - March, 2025La Napoule Mimosa Festival February 2025

Flower parade in Bormes-les-Mimosas – February 2025

Flower parade in Le Lavandou - March, 2025

Lavandou Flower parade takes place over three days. The traditional highlight of the event, grand parade of 18 floats will be held on Sunday March 31 on the theme "Panique au Layet" with the famous flower battle at 4:30 p.m. Saturday March 30: "Le Layet d'Adam" exhibition, entertainment village, visit to the tank construction hangars. Monday, April 1 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Nice carnival arrives... at Le Lavandou

Nice Carnival “King of the Seas and Oceans” in February-March 2025

91st Lemon Festival in Menton in February-March 2025

Carnival : history and tradition

The flower carnival originates from Egypte and Greece. These countries coming from paganism used to celebrate respectively the Apis bull and the Bacchus bull, they were being immolated while people danced and were screaming of joy. Before that, a human victim replaced the bull. From 1420 the carnival consisted of a bull adorned of feather and dazzling objects and clothes, and a child, king of the butchers that was perched on its back. This practice was abolishes in 1790 and restored in 1805. After that, the king of the butchers was replaced by a float full of young girls wearing mythologycal ceremonials of Love (hence the Queen's float). Then the Corso got its inspiration from Italy with floats decorated by leaves and branches, pulled on the main street by participants allowed to make fun of the local key figures. From 1950 the corsos in the South became a tourist show with majorettes, bands, flower battles, paying stand, tractors, amusement rides... losing all their villager and religious roots....