The government promised to lift lockdown and reopen museums, movie theaters and theaters on December 15, if the number of new cases drops to 5,000 cases, and if the number of people in ICU stagnates between 2,500 and 3,000 patients. Experts have been noticing a high number of new cases for several days already: 13,713 new positive cases have been reported on December 8 evening. According to Health Minister Olivier Véran, the 5,000-case-per-day-goal will not be met on December 15.
Therefore, this Thursday December 10, Jean Castex announced cultural places are to remain shut until January 7, 2021. Museums, show venues, theaters, and movie theaters have to reschedule all their activities planned for mid-December and wait before they are allowed to resume work.
The government guaranteed all financial helps already instated will remain until the cultural places can reopen in early January. It will help them to stay afloat.
As they have been caught in uncertainty for quite a while, players from the cultural sector expressed their disappointment. Movie director Alexandre Mallet-Guy showed consternation on LCI: “not reopening movie theaters on the 15th might be a catastrophe for us. Promotion has been started, yesterday we were on ‘Quotidien’ set with the actors, the poster campaign starts today… For us, it is too late to back out.”
The movie director is not the only in this case. Movie theaters are expecting a small audience war, as the public will be ultimately allowed to return. As a matter of fact, to attract people, many movie theaters have planned to play movies that were a hit before lockdown again, forgetting about new movies or indie movies. “Mechanically speaking [movie theaters] cannot play all these movies. And of course, there will be damage” Alexandre Mallet-Guy foresees.
Representing mid-sized exhibitors at the Federation of Cinemas, Aurélie Delage sums the situation up for Les Échos: “This an emotional rollercoaster, we are not sure of anything anymore”. Not reopening on the 15th “would be a genuine hard blow, a hammer blow” as “venues have been preparing to reopen, rearranged their schedules and set up their staff again”.
New supports?
Anger and discouragement, these are the feelings players of these forgotten sectors are experiencing. Le Rex movie theater director in Sarlat Arnaud Vialle threatens to go against the orders from the government. He tells AFP: “I’m fed up. F***! I’m wondering if I’m not gonna open despite everything with a strict health protocol. […] I’m outraged because supermarkets can receive everyone”.
Théâtre Lucernaire director Benoît Lavigne is more resigned: “I don’t know how many times we cancelled, postponed, cancelled, postponed, we’ve been doing so since March”, he says. “It’s wearing and discouraging for the staff and the public, we feel misunderstood. In theaters and movie theaters, all rules are followed and on the 24th and 25th, there is no restriction, people can travel by train or plane; it doesn’t make sense”.
Delegate minister entrusted with the Industry Agnès Pannier-Runacher has guaranteed cultural industries will be helped by the government in the event they must remain closed longer. “Of course, we will do something, especially for theaters, concert venues and movie theaters” she promised on Radio Classique.
