The Vendée park of Puy du Fou was able to reopen its doors on June 10.
Invited Thursday from Europe 1, its director Nicolas de Villiers indicated that the famous night show of "Cinéscénie" would resume on July 3 with a health protocol identical to that of festivals.
The number of spectators will initially be limited to 5,000.
INTERVIEW
It is one of the jewels of local tourism in France. The Puy du Fou park in Vendée, regularly acclaimed as one of the most successful theme parks in the world, reopened its doors to the public on June 10. Launched in 1989, this place employs up to 2,300 employees in the summer, who must now come to terms with the health protocol. Invited Thursday from
France moves
on Europe 1, Nicolas de Villiers, the director of the park, nevertheless has high hopes in this reopening, which should allow him to present to the public certain novelties, pushed back by the Covid-19 crisis.
"It is going really well because our visitors are very calm. It is without comparison with last year, where we were all paralyzed by what was happening to us, by this unprecedented crisis", explains Nicolas de Villiers.
"Everyone respects the barrier gestures. Nobody disputes the reality of this crisis and everyone plays the game so that the distances are respected where necessary, and so that, ultimately, the stay is the as pleasant as possible for everyone, ”he assures us.
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The "Cinéscénie" subject to the limitations of festivals
While some of the health restrictions were alleviated on Thursday in the park, the night show at Puy du Fou, the "Cinéscénie", which has its own ticket office, remains subject to the same constraints as a festival. . Normally, this entertainment can accommodate around 15,000 spectators. "Today, the decree allows us to accommodate up to 13,000 people, on condition that we leave a distance seat between the different family groups," said the director of the park. "But we will start, on July 3, with 5,000 spectators, quite simply out of prudence. We set this bar low enough because, as we still had little information a few weeks ago, we preferred to play the caution."
This also slows down the economic recovery of the park, but Nicolas de Villiers assumes it.
"What is great is that we can open up, it is that we can play, it is that we can live from our passion. Afterwards, the economic question is secondary, so I believe that things have to be put in the right order, "he sweeps away.
A show and a new hotel
This year, the public will be able to experience two novelties, which should have been unveiled in 2020. “Last year was a very devastated year, in which we were not really able to spread our wings in terms of novelties. will be able to discover at Puy du Fou 'Les noces de feu'. It is a great nocturnal spectacle, an extraordinary phantasmagoria on a lake, which is full of surprises and which is inspired by the romantic 19th century, all in lights, surprises and in poetry ", announces Nicolas de Villiers.
"And then there's Le Grand Siècle, it's our new hotel. We couldn't really launch it last year because the Covid-19 prevented us from doing it," he slips. In this setting, reminiscent of the splendor of the Grand Trianon in Versailles, visitors can imagine spending a night at the court of Louis XIV.