Paris (AFP)
Strikes, the Paris Opera has experienced a myriad of them in recent decades. But after three weeks of paralysis, sixty canceled shows and more than 12 million euros in losses, the three-hundred-year-old institution faces the worst blockage in its recent history.
"Over the past 30 years, this has been the longest strike and the heaviest casualties" in connection with a strike, the Opera said.
In total, 63 canceled shows and € 12.3 million in ticket losses since December 5, the first day of strike against pension reform which, in the world of culture, concerns only the Opera and Comedy- French. In comparison, the 2007 strike against a first reform of the special regimes had caused the cancellation of 17 shows and losses of 3.2 million euros.
The season resumes on January 11 and the Ministry of Culture told AFP that "discussions with management and staff representatives are continuing".
- Lower working capital -
Behind the scenes and in the studios, preparations for the next works seem to be going normally: French baritone Florian Sempey tweeted to be "happy" to be back for the "Barber of Seville", the first opera on the bill; the star dancer Hugo Marchand posted on Instagram a video of him repeating his role in the ballet "Giselle".
According to the Opera, the hecatomb of canceled shows caused a "significant reduction in working capital".
"This jeopardizes investments for future seasons, especially for the planned works. There will be financial repercussions on operations and budgets," said the institution, which celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2019.
If the strikes of the technicians of the Opera have been commonplace since the 70s, that of the Ballet is extremely rare, and the presence of its dancers in the street unprecedented. In 1984, he was exceptionally on strike for a few days after management suspended negotiations on a new collective agreement.
Some strikes remain memorable like that in 1998, voted in extremis by the artists of the choir before a representation of the Traviata. The management then decides to cancel the evening under the boos of the public already installed.
Or the performance of the ballet "The Nutcracker" with unique decor and no costume in 2007 during which Dorothée Gilbert was named star dancer. Not to mention the many late curtain raisers and the operas finally given in concert version.
With the exception of 2007, "the strikes always concerned wage or category demands, on the collective agreement or the organization of work and generally lasted a few days," said a former director of the house.
- "Reconquest of the public" -
Opera dancers, the only dancers to benefit from this pension in France and to retire at 42, defend tooth and nail this regime which dates back to Louis XIV. They recently rejected a proposal that the reform would come into effect for dancers recruited after January 1, 2022.
The State contributes to half of the funding of the Opera pension fund (14 million euros per year, nearly 1,900 contributors).
In an internal letter consulted by AFP, the outgoing director Stéphane Lissner, who will succeed in 2021 the German Alexander Neef, feared, in addition to the economic consequences, that "the relationship with our public will come out durably damaged".
"There will certainly be a policy to win back audiences and a number of gestures towards spectators will be implemented," says one at the Opera.
© 2020 AFP