Will moving Tournai’s Chiffonnades into the Kermesse strengthen the festival or hurt local shops?
Tournai Commerces has moved the city’s Chiffonnades second-hand clothing market from its customary August Sunday to Saturday 12 September, placing it inside the 2026 Kermesse programme despite objections from seven clothing retailers.
The change tests whether concentrating second-hand commerce, professional retail and cultural events can increase visits and spending across Tournai’s centre. It also exposes a practical conflict between event-led regeneration and retailers who depend on a limited number of high-value trading days.
has scheduled the city’s second-hand clothing market for Saturday 12 September, moving it from its familiar Sunday slot in August and folding it into the 2026 . The official tourism programme confirms that the market will run from 9am to 6pm along the Scheldt quays, alongside a brocante and other festivities across the city centre.
For residents, visitors and traders in this Walloon city near the French border, the change means a denser festival weekend and a broader shopping offer. It also creates a delicate test for the centre’s retail economy: seven local clothing businesses have petitioned the municipal authorities because the will now take place during the same long weekend as ’s traditional braderie, according to regional broadcaster Notélé.
The retailers do not oppose the second-hand market itself. Their objection concerns its timing. Notélé reports that they regard the September braderie, scheduled for Monday 14 September, as an important opportunity to clear stock from previous collections. They fear that bringing private sellers of used clothing into the city centre two days earlier will compete with professional shops at one of their most commercially significant moments. The signatories also say the date was fixed without adequate consultation.
, president of the non-profit association , has defended the decision while acknowledging those concerns. She told Notélé that combining second-hand stalls, shop discounts, heritage and entertainment could make the weekend more attractive to consumers and draw people through the city. Her organisation intends to test the formula rather than change the programme immediately; if it does not work, she said, the date can be reconsidered.
That difference captures the real policy question behind a seemingly modest calendar adjustment. is treating the as an additional reason to visit the centre, while the petitioning retailers see a competing clothing offer placed beside their own clearance event. Footfall alone will not settle the argument: organisers will also need to know whether visitors spend money in established shops, cafés and other businesses or concentrate their purchases at the second-hand stalls.
The city’s official tourism service presents the change as part of an unusually concentrated programme. says the and Brocante des 5 Clochers will occupy the centre on Saturday, followed on Sunday by the Grande Procession and the four traditional cortèges. The braderie then stretches over about 2.5 kilometres on Monday and is expected to bring together roughly 250 professional and itinerant exhibitors. A separate funfair will operate on the Esplanade du Conseil de l’Europe from 5 to 27 September; despite the square’s name, this is a municipal festival location, not an event run by an EU institution or by the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.
The have long been part of ’s local events calendar. A municipal publication recorded an August edition on the Scheldt quays as early as 2015, while the city advertised two editions in 2018. The move therefore alters an established rhythm rather than creating a new market. It also comes before a wider redesign of the Kermesse announced for 2027, although the detailed form of that overhaul has not yet been published.
No federal, Walloon or European authority has announced a role in the scheduling dispute, which remains a local matter involving , participating traders, the municipal authorities and festival-goers. The next meaningful evidence will come on 12 and 14 September: attendance, sales patterns and feedback from retailers and stallholders will show whether clustering the events creates mutual benefit or merely shifts spending between them. What remains unclear is how success will be measured and whether the organisers will publish a formal post-event assessment before deciding the ’ 2027 date.
Impact
Regional — The immediate impact is confined mainly to Tournai and western Hainaut. Visitors gain a larger combined programme, while clothing retailers and market sellers face an uncertain redistribution of customers and spending.
Local — The effects will be concentrated in Tournai city centre and, more broadly, western Hainaut. Visitors can attend the Chiffonnades from 9am to 6pm on Saturday 12 September and return for the approximately 2.5-kilometre braderie on Monday 14 September. Private second-hand sellers may benefit from Kermesse footfall, while clothing retailers face possible competition for customers’ time and spending. The test will help Tournai Commerces decide whether this date should be retained after 2026.
What it means for you
Visitors planning a September trip to Tournai should note that the Chiffonnades will take place on Saturday 12 September 2026 from 9am to 6pm, rather than on its customary August Sunday. The wider Kermesse runs across the same weekend, while the traditional braderie is scheduled for Monday 14 September. Shoppers seeking second-hand clothing should attend on Saturday; those wanting the main retail braderie should plan for Monday. Local retailers and prospective market sellers should monitor Tournai Commerces’ event information because the date may be reconsidered after organisers assess the combined format.
Opposing perspectives
- Tournai Commerces and Kelly Vandeputte
The organisers argue that placing second-hand stalls beside shop promotions and cultural events could give consumers a more attractive day out and bring additional visitors into Tournai. Vandeputte presents the arrangement as a trial whose results should be observed before the date is rejected.
- Seven petitioning clothing retailers
The signatory businesses accept the Chiffonnades as an event but oppose scheduling them during the braderie weekend. They say private second-hand sellers could compete with professional shops when those businesses need to clear previous collections, and they object to what they describe as insufficient prior consultation.
Who, where and what
Key people, places and terms in this story
Walloon city where the Chiffonnades, Kermesse and traditional braderie take place.
Belgian region containing Tournai and the wider regional setting for the story.
Leader of Tournai Commerces who defended the choice of date.
Sub-regional area expected to experience the broader visitor and commercial effects.
News outlet reporting on the expected redesign of the Kermesse in 2027.
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Leader of Tournai Commerces who defended the choice of date.
Walloon city where the Chiffonnades, Kermesse and traditional braderie take place.
Belgian region containing Tournai and the wider regional setting for the story.
Sub-regional area expected to experience the broader visitor and commercial effects.
Second-hand clothing and accessories market moved to Saturday 12 September 2026.
September city programme into which the 2026 Chiffonnades have been incorporated.
Traditional retail event scheduled for Monday 14 September 2026 along an approximately 2.5-kilometre route.
News outlet reporting on the expected redesign of the Kermesse in 2027.
Local commerce organisation that rescheduled the Chiffonnades and will evaluate the combined format.
Regional broadcaster reporting on retailers’ objections and Tournai Commerces’ response.
Tourism service publishing the Kermesse programme and Tournai’s 2026 events calendar.
Municipal authority publishing information about the September funfair.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceNotéléPrimaryprimary· notele.be· 25 August 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 38 days ago· Dated
- View sourceVisit Tournai — Kermesse programmeofficial· visittournai.beRetrieved 26 August 2026
- View sourceVisit Tournai — 2026 events calendarofficial· visittournai.beRetrieved 26 August 2026
- View sourceCity of Tournai — September funfairofficial· tournai.beRetrieved 26 August 2026
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This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.