- Nightclubs must remain closed until June 21 (at least).
- It seems very dangerous for night establishments to prepare for their reopening, as the application of sanitary measures seems difficult for them.
Party people will wait. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Thursday that nightclubs, places of promiscuity par excellence, would remain closed until June 21 (at least), due to the Covid-19. But beyond that, how can we envisage the reopening of the dance floors, if the barrier gestures are still in force?
Thursday, the Union of hotel trades and industries (UMIH) published a very detailed guide, for the use of restaurants, hotels, but also nightclubs, in order to guide establishments in the preparation of their perilous reopening. Among the measures mentioned by the union for nightclubs: wearing a mask to move or stand, washing hands at the entrance and exit, a limited number of people in the smoking rooms, none contact with the DJ, remote controls via cards to complete (for example), and disposable glasses.
"I can't see people at the bar with a mask"
These measures, dubbed by the state services, were written "from those issued at the beginning of the week by the High Council of Public Health," said the union on Friday at 20 minutes. But the nightclubs are groping forward, faced with the difficulty of imagining strict sanitary measures in such bustling places.
For an establishment like La Dune, at La Grande-Motte (Hérault) which can accommodate up to 1,500 to 2,000 people per evening, the equation is, for example, a bit complex. "It seems quite complicated, in a nightclub, to keep distances between customers," says Marie Gilant, member of the team of the Hérault club. A nightclub is a place to meet, to share, if everyone stays within a meter, with a mask, and is not allowed to move, there is no longer any point in a nightclub, that's for sure . "" I can't see people being at the bar, with a mask, notes Anthony Fernandez, the resident DJ of Pulp, a nightclub located on the beach road, in Lattes (Hérault). A nightclub remains a place of conviviality. "
"We have to reinvent ourselves"
For Pascal Priore, who runs the Villa nightclubs with Frédéric Martin in Gruissan (Aude) and the Imprévu in Narbonne (Aude), the measures mentioned by the UMIH will be difficult to apply. "Distances, masks, it's impossible in a nightclub, none will be able," says the entrepreneur. A nightclub is exactly the opposite of what is happening right now. We hope that the state will say, when we can open, that distancing and wearing a mask are no longer mandatory. In Gruissan, the club being mostly open air, this should not be a problem. Since we can very well go shopping without a mask and without distancing. "
"It is doable, but it requires a lot of organization," says a former manager of a nightclub in Montpellier (Hérault). You have to reinvent yourself, to continue to party, but in security. Customers will have to help establishments, respecting these measures. But there remains the question of people dancing… ”
Impatient customers
There is another unknown in the night world: will establishments be financially shocked? “It's a very big blow, we had to make loans, says Pascal Priore, the boss of the Villa and the Unexpected. And loans have to be repaid. So we will have to make more profit than before. It will be very complicated. "
On the client side, in any case, the impatience is great. Since the Prime Minister's announcements, the Dune team at La Grande-Motte says they have received a lot of messages from devotees, who are impatient to find the club that makes them dance every year, on sunny days . "Many, many messages," says Marie Gilant. Everyone wants to know when the reopening will take place. But we will do everything to reopen the Dune, when possible. We are optimistic! "
Society
Deconfinement in Lyon: Restaurants and bars are busy for the recovery and fear "three years of galley"
Paris
Deconfinement in Paris: Schools, parks, bars ... How phase 2 will unfold
- Covid 19
- Night
- Nightclub
- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Deconfinement
- Nightclub
- Coronavirus
- Montpellier
- Society