The government has been clear: with the raising to stage 2 of the alert level against the new coronavirus, all gatherings of more than 5,000 people in closed places are now prohibited, to limit the spread of the epidemic in France. After the cancellation of events such as the Paris half-marathon, the concert halls are also in the sights of the authorities. In the wake of announcements from the Minister of Health on Saturday evening, some have already started to cancel certain shows ... Europe 1 takes stock.
Level 2: ban above 5,000 people
In France there are more than 80 indoor halls which organize concerts or shows for more than 5,000 people. The AccorHotels Arena in Paris, for example, was to host a hip-hop competition, "Just Standing" on Sunday evening, which brought in some of the best hip hop dancers in the world. It is canceled. Gims, he was to perform next Friday at the Zenith in Nantes, and there too the concert is already canceled.
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For their part, the night of Brittany, the concerts of Tryo, Matt Pokora or Romeo Elvis in the coming days are also threatened, as are the performances of The Australian Pink Floyd or Jean-Louis Aubert scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Lille .
Level 3: ban above 1,000 people
In order not to cancel the shows, some producers strategically decide to limit the sale of seats. "We are a little worried. French tours can be moved," says Daniel Colling, who directs the hall in Nantes and the Zenith in Paris. "There I just had the producer, on Sunday we have Christophe Maé; he was at 4,700 sales, he will stop at 5,000. He will not cancel, he will play, but he will limit his sale to 5,000."
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The wardens now fear that the government will decide to go to alert level 3, a scenario in which rallies of more than 1,000 people would then be prohibited.