The cultivation of mirabelle plums has been documented in France since 1490, and the tasty stone fruit thrives above all in Lorraine. This is where 70 percent of the world's harvest comes from.
Around 250,000 mirabelle plum trees characterise the landscape between Nancy and Metz, which hosts the Mirabelle Plum Festival every August.

Every August the event attracts around 80,000 visitors to the old bishop's town - with concerts and parades, funfairs and fireworks, balls and dinner spectacles.
At a large regional market, visitors can meet mirabelle plum producers, confectioners, cholocatiers and beekeepers from the region. And also the choice of the mirabelle plum queen is on the programme.

A highlight of the event is the large flower parade through the city, which starts under a different motto every year.
For weeks, various associations have built motif wagons for this and decorated them with thousands of flowers the evening before the parade.