Here's everything you need to know about France's biggest party, held in La Seyne.

A city within a city! The Navale Park, which hosts the La Kermesse festival, is expected to welcome nearly 60,000 people over three evenings (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), almost as many as the entire population of Seyne.

"This event in La Seyne is the largest of the three we are offering ," says Pierre Abbate, co-organizer of the event. "In Nice, we welcome 3,200 people per evening; in Toulouse 5,000. Here we will have nearly 20,000 each evening."

With a capacity doubled compared to last year, everything has been reviewed. " The City allowed the fan zone to be extended (with a 5,000m² pit) and we redesigned the entire site plan, rearranging the location of the structures to accommodate more people," continues Pierre Abbate. Last year, the stage was 22m long with, on each side, more than 20m of space reserved for VIP and Premium pass holders. This time, they will be placed in front of the stage, so that it will be nearly 60m long. This will allow for more stage play and free up space for the artists' instruments, many of whom will be playing live."

Four giant screens on site

In addition, the stage will have a projection of more than 20 meters into the pit to allow the artists to sing in the middle of the audience. And on each side, giant screens (10m x 4m) will be positioned to broadcast the concerts.

Two more of the same size are also being installed on the site. "And there will be many more special effects: pyrotechnics, flamethrowers on the roof, and other surprises. We've also added sound power to cover more people."

In addition, two small stages have also been set up with local DJs and 2000s music: one near the relaxation area (hosted by Radio Mistral) and one near the restroom area. "It will create a bodega atmosphere and make the wait before going to the restrooms a little cooler!"

Furthermore, for the comfort of festival-goers, the number of toilets has increased from 50 to 90, with the installation of a sewer system (instead of chemical toilets) and maintenance staff who will come after each visitor.

As for the relaxation village ( chill zone ), it will include stands for prevention, tattooing, piercing, makeup, etc., as well as a giant screen with the Just Dance game and choreographies to reproduce to win prizes.

70,000 liters of beer in stock

Regarding the catering: no food trucks, but dozens of tents lined up over nearly 120 meters, with integrated kitchens for quality service. Each tent indicates the type of catering offered. As for the bar area, it is… 140 meters long! " In fact," explains Pierre Abbate, "there are four bars for the public and a fifth for VIPs. And 179 people to operate them."

Last year, 27,000 liters of beer were sold during the three days. This year, the organizers have planned for... 70,000! They are stored in 1,000-liter tanks refrigerated to -4°, connected to each other "so that there is no handling and continuous service: when one tank is empty, the next one takes over automatically."

100,000 bottles of water have also been planned, as well as tens of thousands of liters of soda and other soft drinks, sold at bars and vending machines. Also note that police-style flashing lights are positioned at the bars and will be activated when the queues are reduced.

An electronic chip for each festival-goer

Another innovation this year: each festival-goer will wear a wristband, given to them at the entrance, which includes an electronic chip.

"Everyone will be able to credit an account with their phone, via the QR code, to make purchases on site (food, drinks, purchases in the shop, etc.). The chip (which works thanks to a Wi-Fi network installed on the site) also contains the ticket reservation; it will therefore be enough to beep to enter the following evenings (for holders of passes valid for several evenings)."

"This system," continues Pierre Abatte, "also allows us to see how people move around the site during the evening, when they go to the bar or the restaurant. We tested this system in Nice at the beginning of July, and it works very well. It triples the speed of payment at the counters. And it allows us to adapt better to crowd movements and also, if we have problems with a person, to deactivate their chip. But since we welcome a very family-oriented audience, we've never had any particular problems."

Single access to the site

Unlike last year, all access points are grouped together at a single point: the Porte des chantiers (cours Toussaint Merle) where 25 lanes (queues) under two huge marquees will help manage the flow.

Doors will open at 4 p.m., with concerts scheduled to end at midnight. However, for any exits or evacuations, the park entrance on the Mercure Hotel side will remain open.

A few hours before kickoff, Pierre Abbate says he has "no fears. We are ready and have put in place all the necessary means to ensure that everything goes well and that the festival experience is magical. The only apprehension is force majeure, such as an unforeseen weather event. But so far, the conditions are looking very favorable: a little wind tomorrow, but sunshine all weekend." Everything seems to be in place to ensure the success of this supercharged third edition!

There are few places left

If tonight's concerts are sold out, "there are still 40 to 50 places available for Saturday and Sunday (book online at lakermesse.fr). The after-parties at the Joa casino are also sold out," the organizers said. The audience is therefore responding massively to the call for hits from the 2000s. "People come from all over France, but also from Switzerland and Belgium and even Canada, which is not the case in Nice or Toulouse," Pierre Abbate said.

It must be said that the lineup at La Seyne is unrivaled: "Not counting the local artists who play in the early evening, in Nice, we had 6 headliners per day, we have 8 in Toulouse and 11 here." And according to the organizer, the artists don't need to be asked twice to come: "All those who were at the top twenty years ago love to come back and play their hits from that time." Among them: Fatal Bazooka, Shy'm, Ophélie Winter, Gilbert Montagné, L5, Kenza Farah, Jessy Matador, Willy Denzey, Boney M, Keen'V, Franky Vincent... and many more! Find the full lineup on the festival website.