Normandy: sausage stall at Carentan market

On Monday mornings some of the town centre's abundant parking space becomes home to the market. There are several sausage stalls, all selling very similar products: here the main items being grilled are pork sausages, pork chops and merguez. They can be bought with pommes frites or in a baguette.

Merguez originate in northern Africa: usually made of beef and/or lamb, they are a (delicious) spicy sausage, a distant cousin of the Spanish chorizo.

In most French towns, most of the smaller high-street shops are either closed or open just for half a day on Mondays. Fortunately Carentan is a rare exception - there are very few other Monday markets (other than fish markets) in France - and the town's market ensures that all shops are open for business on every weekday.