Halal and Hearty: The Growth of Ramadan Markets in France

First set up in 1570, in 2022 up to 3.3 million visitors from across Europe and the world flocked to the market. In the last decade, a new tendency has been emerging, however: Ramadan markets. It was only last year that French media reported on this new trend. 

New Kid on the Block

In the long term, Strasbourg Christmas Market may have a competitor: Strasbourg’s Ramadan Market, a well-organised event which attracted up to 50 000 thousand visitors that same year. This figure, though not comparable with the Strasbourg Christmas market’s, indicates a growing Muslim culture in France as well as its normalisation. 

Located at the German border, the city of Strasbourg attracts especially Turkish Muslims who remain a minority of the French Muslim community (8,6%) and are in large part based in the Alsace region. The French Muslim population is mainly composed of Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan believers (82%). According to the latest figures, Muslims make up to 11% of the French population and are the fastest growing religious group in France. According to a 2017 study from the Pew Research Centre, the high birth rate in French Muslim families, in addition to the growing levels of immigration from mainly Muslim African and central Asian countries could bring the Muslim population to being as high as 17% and 18% of the total French population. 

The rise of a new Muslim culture and tradition in France, in direct competition with the secular and Christian cultures still predominant today, doesn’t come as a surprise. As we are approaching Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, the unprecedented growth of the halal market is a notable sign. According to the Halal Accreditation Agency, based in Turkey, retail sales in France, while only worth €80 million in 2009, rose to over €280 million in 2019—a 71% market increase in just 11 years. 

The size of the halal French market taken as a whole today totals €5.5 billion, about the same as the German and the British ones. 

During Ramadan, the Ramadan Markets (“Marché du Ramadan”) in French, are often open in the evening, like the one in Strasbourg. This allows Muslims to prepare their special dinner for the break of their fast, at sunset. As one would expect, there are numerous types of food which you expect to find in North African and Arabic food stores: cuscus, kebabs, almonds, dates, dried fruits, etc. You also find niqabs on sale, Arabic-style dresses, djellabas, etc. For now, the French press has only reported on three Ramadan markets in France, but research shows that wherever there is a strong Muslim community, there’s a Ramadan market to cater to its needs. 

Marketing Savvy

Apart from Strasbourg, these markets are held in the suburbs of France’s major cities: Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse, cities where most Muslim communities are based. Their organisers have often developed efficient advertising, especially on social media and are supported in this by their local council. A Tiktok video promoting the Ramadan Market of Garges-les-Gonnès, in Eastern Paris, was published by the city’s local council’s channel during the 2024 edition. Other Tiktok videos related to French Ramadan markets were viewed over a million times. 

None of the French Ramadan markets are yet as organised as those in  London though, where the annual London Muslim Shopping Festival brings together 20 000 people each year.. Businesses as well as Muslim food and fashion brands attend this event from all around the Muslim world. The ticketing system of the shopping festival is also quite sophisticated, as it offers a VIP option which comes with a hefty £199 price tag for one  weekend. French Ramadan markets, in comparison, are still casual events organised in stadiums or on the street by charities. 

Ramadan Markets are now fully part of some French cities’ culture. As Muslims are becoming a crucial part of France’s electorate, both left-wing and right-wing councils either feel compelled, or willingly support, Ramadan Markets which they view as opportunities to gain the Muslim vote at the next local elections. Only some mayors, almost exclusively from Marine le Pen’s National Rally, tend to be more negative towards the Muslim electorate which they consider a threat to France’s traditions and identity.   

With the fast growth of the Muslim population, the number of Ramadan markets will increase in the years to come. While the concept of “laïcité”, which prevents the state from promoting any religious values, still prevails it seems unlikely for now that Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo will decorate the city for Ramadan, following London’s Sadiq Khan’s example.

Statement

Ramadan has become fully part of the cultural life of some French cities, just like Christmas is part of France’s religious and cultural traditions. This phenomenon is especially symbolised by the rising number of Ramadan Markets where Arabic, Anatolian and African food and clothing are sold. The spreading of these markets and of Muslim culture are a natural consequence of the increasing proportion of Muslims in France which is set to hit an all-time high figure of 18% of the French population by the end of the next decade. While Muslim markets are still casual events, they may well professionalise in the future, especially if they benefit from the support of their local councils.