The lemon festival in Menton has been in full-swing since the 14th February. Carts decorated in citrus fruit parade the streets and attract thousands of tourists every year.
To obtain a large quantity of lemons the organisers have to look further than the citrus in the region, even turning to the region of Murcie, in Spain.
Citrus producer, Sylviane, picks lemons and says “they should be picked, by preference and ripeness but today we are picking them in the rain, this is not very good for the trees though”. Another lemon picker, Antonia, works 7 hours per day at a steady rhythm. She fills 35 crates per day, i.e. 700 kilos of lemons. Some are for industry, others for the lemon festival.
A total of 140 tons of lemons and oranges are needed to decorate the carts.