Everything was ready for the reopening.

For weeks, actors, technicians, press officers, and the entertainment world in general, had been working hard for this long-awaited recovery.

But Thursday, December 10, just after 6 p.m., it's a cold shower.

Prime Minister Jean Castex has just announced that museums, theaters and cinemas will have to remain closed at least until early January, in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The City of Paris criticized this decision, regretting Friday that "the lesser dangerousness" of cultural practices in cinemas, theaters and museums was not taken into account to decree their deconfinement.

An opinion shared by Jean-Michel Ribes, the combative and committed director of the Théâtre du Rond-Point, one of the most famous venues in the capital.

He denounces to France 24 a policy of "two weights, two measures".

France 24: How do you react to this new closure of cultural places for at least three weeks?

Jean-Michel Ribes:

I don't want to react any more, because since March, my comrades and I have been repeating the same thing… But it's useless.

What they say is that since the start of the epidemic, there has not been a single cluster in a performance hall.

Everything is secure: disinfection, distancing, hydroalcoholic gel… So I am not sure that we are the cause of the spread of this pandemic. 

Like everyone else, from Toulon to Lille, from Brest to Strasbourg, we were ready to put all the machines back on the road.

The actors are exhausted, some are crying.

They rehearsed for weeks, ready to show off some amazing creations and it all stops once again.

When we see the world that there are in department stores, in transport, we realize that there are "two weights, two measures".

I have the impression that culture is the last wheel of the coach.

I am combative, but by dint of fighting against windmills, it becomes complicated.

There is no consultation.

I don't think the government is really interested in culture.

In fact, do you have the feeling that the government is lacking in consideration?

Totally.

I hear the President of the Republic say "oh yes, we know, they want to play", as if we were children in a sandbox.

We're not having fun.

It is a very complicated job and a very useful job that creates social ties.

We are resuscitators.

We bring dreams to people. 

Of course, there is financial assistance from the government, but we are not listened to at all.

We are not considered, while the cultural world has considerable economic weight in France.

There are more people going to theaters than to football stadiums.

I hear people say that we have to focus on the economy.

But we are the economy.

We are a country of creation and culture.

>> See also on France 24: ON THE POSTER - After the government announcements, the disarray of the world of culture

Let us dream a little, what shows should you present in December at the Théâtre du Rond Point?

I will not make you dream, but rather frustrate you.

There was this wonderful "Invisible Circus", a show for children, by Jean-Baptiste Thierrée and Victoria Chaplin who is Charlie Chaplin's last daughter.

And then "The most precious of goods", taken from this magnificent text by Jean-Claude Grumberg, an extraordinary tale ... 

Unfortunately, we have to cancel and we continue to cancel shows, because no one believes in this story of reopening in January.

We're not going to be fooled a third time.

And then there is a moment when the performing arts, like any living thing, can die.

How do you see the year 2021?

I see nothing.

You have to understand that the programming of a theater like ours goes until 2022. So when you cancel a show, you have to find another niche, but when?

It's a hellish domino game. 

If we were told: "You stay closed until August, and then you are open without constraint", we could build something, but for the moment, we are in the most total fog.

We must stop being marinated and above all stop this policy of double standards.

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR