Pure and simple cancellations or restricted access: the world of entertainment and culture, in shock, is looking for a parade after the government's decision to ban any gathering greater than 1,000 people, to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The Federation of companies in the performing arts, music, audiovisual and cinema (Fesac) sounded the alarm on Monday, calling on the authorities to set up "an emergency fund" to help a sector already weakened.
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About 300 cinemas in France have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 spectators or more. In Paris, the Salle de la Cigale has already found a solution for the Nada Surf concert planned for Wednesday. The American group should play twice in front of 500 people. The Philharmonie de Paris has canceled all the concerts planned in its large hall until further notice, without knowing until when this ban is planned.
Meeting around the Minister of Culture
The main difficulty of room directors is indeed the lack of precision on the duration of the restrictions. The rooms communicate drop by drop on cancellations or postponements to be expected. Difficult therefore to organize for spectators. "Until now we postponed to June, but here we are forced to postpone up to a year for lack of space, because everything is taken in the fall and next winter," confided to AFP Thierry Teodori, director general of Halle Tony Garnier in Lyon, one of the largest halls in France.
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Exceptions are however foreseen: it will be up to the prefects and the ministries to have "put together a list of events considered useful for the life of the nation".
Culture Minister Franck Riester is scheduled to meet with industry players on Monday or Tuesday. If the restrictive measures last, they could be catastrophic for this industry which employs almost 120,000 people per year according to figures from Prodiss, the main performing arts union. Artists could also be affected: since the record crisis, they have lived mainly thanks to concerts.