The cinemas reopen on Monday after more than three months of closure due to coronavirus, which has never happened in the history of our country. Forty films will be showing, half of which have come out. But will the public return to theaters? Professionals hope so and everything has been planned to accommodate them, including very strict health rules to avoid any contact - a protocol on which the National Federation of French Cinemas has worked hard with the government to authorize the reopening.
"Zero contact" and hydroalcoholic gel
The distance of one meter between each spectator in the common circulation areas will first apply, with health prevention messages reminded on the screens before the screenings, and a distribution of hydroalcoholic gel. Regular disinfection of all contact surfaces will also be carried out.
At the CGR cinema in Nanterre University, the spectator will for example be greeted upon entry by a SpongeBob display, with a pot of hydroalcoholic gel placed on his head. "To make it less anxious for children, we have personalized the hydroalcoholic gel dispensers as well as the limits that are on the ground for respecting distances", specifies Guillaume Signeron, the director of the cinema.
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The objective is that the spectator has already pre-purchased everything online, thanks to their smartphone, whether it is the entry ticket, the popcorn packet or the soft drink. "From start to finish, you can go see your movie, get your seats and the confectionery without having any contact with anyone. You arrive at the gates, present your ticket below and it opens the door completely: really zero contact, "explains the director.
A gap seat
The wearing of the mask is recommended in the halls of cinemas and all circulation areas, but there is then no obligation to keep it in the room and during the projection. Couples and groups of people who have arrived together will obviously be able to sit next to each other; on the other hand, a free place must be left on both sides between each individual spectator or between each couple or group. This suggests that the room gauge can only be filled to 50% of their capacity.
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"As a family, we have the right to put ourselves aside, but as soon as we are with other people, a seat apart on both sides", confirms Guillaume Signeron. When the sessions, they will be at the CGR of Nanterre spaced a little half an hour to ventilate the room. At first, this cinema will therefore only be able to use half of its 1,500 seats ... "But we already have a lot of reservations, people want to come back", notes assistant director Adeline Jamboult, for whom essential is above all to restart the activity.