Employee in the “gardens” department of the city of Calais.

The label was created to help develop tourism. Originally, it was based on floral displays only. Now, many other criteria have been added to its requirements: environment and activities, for example.

The fourth flower is a form of recognition, like a Michelin star awarded to a chef. In recent years, the image of Calais has been damaged because of the stories about the migrants here. Yet Calais has many other attributes and this label should help us to show another image of the city in order to attract tourists again. What’s more, the city is a candidate for the national “City of Art and History” label, and the fourth flower could help us to earn this second distinction.

Many improvements have been made, but the main ones are the redevelopment of Risban fort, the new municipal campsite, the Tudor garden, the Charles de Gaulle/Churchill statue in Richelieu Park, improvements to floral displays in the city centre with annual themes, and standardisation of street furniture with a special focus on lace.

Just over 80. But you also have to include the work integration associations, which help us a lot.

The theme is defined according to an overall activity plan for the city, for example in 2017 the theme was “Calais switches to UK time”. We use the theme as a basis for preparing creations and adapting the plant displays. For now, we don’t yet know the theme for 2018… It will be a surprise for our visitors!

No, for us, all flowers are beautiful, we enjoy showcasing them. The local climate is an obstacle but it’s also what enables each region to have its own distinctive features.