“I am delighted that football in France can resume in a popular way, with the public in the stadiums. It is the only country in Western Europe that can do this. ” Kylian Mbappé had a little air of Neil Armstrong, Sunday evening in Le Havre. First man to set foot in a stadium with the public in Western Europe since the health crisis, it was well worth a little self-satisfaction from the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu. Especially after the torrent of criticism that fell on her when France was the first to bury the 2019 season at the heart of the Covid wave.
But let's move on. We are at the beginning of July and Havre has just proved to the whole of Europe that we could organize football matches with at least a few people without flouting the sanitary rules: filtering entry with respect for social distancing, compulsory masks, or even broadcast of a clip on giant screens reminding barrier gestures. The first visual impression is also successful, the social distance between the different family or friendly groups being more or less respected, with one seat apart. The second gives a great impression of emptiness. The 5,000 spectators of the Océane Stadium were indeed gathered in the first belt of the stadium (see photo illustration of the article), leaving the tall stands of a 25,000-seat stadium completely empty. Could we not have completed them too, while respecting the protocol?
This is undoubtedly the question that will stir French football in the coming weeks. 5,000 maximum supporters or a gauge based on the percentage of the maximum capacity of the enclosure? Officially, for the moment, the first option prevails for the finals of the Coupe de France and the League (July 24 and 31) and the Stade de France may sound very hollow with 5,000 people out of the 80,000 available. Questioned before kick-off on this issue, the Minister of Sports assured that increasing the gauge was "an objective". "It will be discussed on July 18," she said. We will see if we can consider that sporting events can benefit from a relative gauge, a percentage of people present in relation to its reception area. Today it is 5,000, it is supposed to be the case until the end of August. But there is a review clause in mid-July. With the ministers concerned, we will bring this subject to the defense council within a week. "
Unlikely for the finals
What hope for a last minute change for the two finals? "I don't really believe it," says Xavier Pierrot, assistant general manager in charge of the stadium for Olympique Lyonnais. You still have to be reasonable and that we receive the information more than a week in advance, there are questions of ticketing, security, discussions to have with the supporters. The idea is rather to try to convince the authorities for the start of the school year. ”
A statement from the "green people" has also confirmed that due to health conditions "impossible to meet", no club of supporters of Stéphane will make the trip to the final of the Coupe de France against PSG on July 24. In short, the debate brings us rather to the resumption of Ligue 1, the weekend of August 23. At that time, Xavier Pierrot, who will open the Groupama Stadium in Lyon to 5,000 spectators at the end of the week for the Véolia Trophy, thinks he will be able to fill it with "without problem at 50 or 60%, even 70 or 80% because if you take a good look at what's going on in theaters and cinemas, we just leave a gap between the groups. ”
The transport issue
Basically, the biggest organizational problem does not lie specifically in the stands, which are otherwise in the open. But rather in the compression zones where the supporters are likely to congregate before or after: transport, entrance gates, refreshment bar… “This is why we want to make the actors of events as responsible as the spectators to offer a protocol that insures everyone, ”explained Roxana Maracineanu in mid-June.
At the time, we explained to you that in this protocol, one of the options envisaged is to define a reception gauge on a case-by-case basis, according to the size of the stadium and the plan proposed by the club, in agreement with its city. . One way to answer the unique logistical questions at each stadium: public transport offer, number of entrance doors to the stadium, overall capacity ... Xavier Pierrot, for his part, is ready to answer all these questions for the Groupama Stadium . He thus evokes more spread arrival times at the stadium to size the arrival by supporters' transport, but also the fluidization of the processes of entry into the stadium, the wearing of masks and barrier measures in all places of circulation. Without forgetting the reorganization of the refreshment stalls to avoid crowds or a traffic direction for people who meet in the toilet.
Without forgetting to inform as much as possible, through signage and reinforcement personnel responsible for recalling good practices. Because beyond all protocols, the attitude of spectators will be decisive "We appeal to the civic spirit of people," he concludes. We feel that there is a look towards the world of football because everyone is waiting to know how the supporters or the organizers will behave. Spectators demonstrated yesterday by respecting the rules that everyone wanted a return of football with the public. It is up to the government to decide now.
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