Paris: Cancellation of France's biggest poker tournament due to government crisis

France's biggest poker tournament, the European Poker Tour (EPT), is a collateral victim of the fall of the Barnier government. The capital's 7 gaming clubs, still in the experimental phase since 2018, are in danger of closing on January 1, for lack of a legal framework. This situation has arisen as a result of the suspension of the examination of the Finance Bill, which had planned to extend the experiment for a further year. Paris, where casinos have been banned for over a century, had seen these clubs replace the former associative gaming circles, often associated with money laundering.

This uncertainty has left almost 1,500 employees in the sector in a state of anxiety. These establishments, where only "table games" activities are authorized, find themselves in an administrative impasse that makes it impossible to organize tournaments such as the EPT.

The poker tournament, organized by PokerStars in collaboration with the Barrière group, was due to mark its third Parisian edition. However, the loss of the clubs' operating license makes it impractical to hold events in Paris and other French cities, as international clientele is essential for this type of event.

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" It's a heartbreaker, both for us and for the players," confided Clément Martin Saint Léon, general gaming director of the Barrière group, to Le Parisien. However, the organizers are considering a possible postponement, hoping for a swift resolution to the government crisis. In the meantime, PokerStars promises to refund all registered players.

Paris thus sees the demise of a key event on the international poker scene, yet another episode in the economic and social consequences of the current political crisis. A situation that invites us to reflect on the impact of administrative decisions on the capital's cultural and leisure activities.