Good news for museums, restaurants, cafés and bars, despite Covid. This Thursday April 15, according to several mayors who attended a meeting with Emmanuel Macron before the one scheduled at 6 p.m. with ministers to address the reopening protocols, the French President is said to have told them terraces and museums might be the first places to reopen when lockdown is lifted.
According to Franceinfo politics service, President Macron is said to have spoke mayors through the first reopening phase “of places where no risk is taken”. As for the reopening period, even though the chief of the executive did not address it when meeting with mayors, the government spokesman – Gabriel Attal – confirmed to Les Echos reopening will take place from mid-May, adding it will also apply to stores, if the health conditions allow it. “The president gave a milestone: some cultural places and some terraces will reopen from mid-May”, he explains. He goes on: “We’ll use rational criteria of common sense, making a difference between outdoor and indoor places, those where one circulates or not, those where it is necessary to remove one’s mask”.
For the record, during the address, the Head of State spoke about reopening from mid-May with “strict conditions”, prior to a more detailed calendar when announcing the hybrid lockdown in France. The President intended to be reassuring to the cultural sector: “Culture will be there from the first reopening step”, he said this Thursday. He went on: “If after two or three weeks it goes well, we can move to step two and so forth”.
According to Emmanuel Macron, the epidemic is to grow for another dozen days. “The epidemic will peak between April 25 and 30”, he said. As for terraces, even though it will be difficult for restaurateurs to meet a correct income again, aids will be granted again to help them transitioning: “at the same time, we must keep on economically support them. There will be a transition phase for at least two months for the CHR (cafés, hotels, restaurants) field, stores, and tourism”.
This is just the very beginning of the end of the tunnel and more details are expected to be announced soon by the Head of State.
