REPORTAGE
The reopening is not total, but it is a start, after two months of confinement: closed since mid-March - unheard of! - due to an epidemic of coronavirus, the Sanctuary of Lourdes reopens on Saturday afternoon. From 2 p.m., residents of a 100 km radius around the city will be able to return, provided they comply with strict health safety protocols.
>> Find Bernard Poirette's morning show in podcast and replay here
An idea "stung at the SNCF"
On the ground, visitors will discover white circles. "To tell you the truth, we stole them from the SNCF because we thought the idea was not bad," smiles Sébastien Maysounave, head of site security. Traced everywhere in front of the fountains, in front of the statue of the Virgin or in front of the candle burner, these circles materialize on the ground the distance that the pilgrims will have to keep between them.
© Benjamin Peter / Europe1
"Even if we have a short waiting time, we know that we have to park in these circles, or at least it reminds us that it is important to keep this distance", continues the organizer. Saturday, groups will be limited to ten people and always accompanied by a hospital.
The measures are intended to be exemplary: there is no question of entering one of the basilicas and even less in the cave. It will be necessary to meditate by seeing it on the other side of the Gave, the river which crosses the Sanctuary.
A "catastrophic" economic situation
For the rector Mgr Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, it is a joy to be able to partially reopen the site, even if these two months have seriously affected the finances. "With this prospect of an absence of pilgrimage in the coming months, the balance of the Sanctuary, which is based on donations, is gravely in danger. We anticipate at the end of the season a loss of order of eight million euros ", he worries, deploring a" catastrophic "economic situation.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Coronavirus: the French Academy has decided, it will now be necessary to say “the” Covid-19
> Coronavirus: is the second wave inevitable?
> Gatherings, trips, sport: what remains prohibited despite the deconfinement
> Deconfinement: what you need to know about returning to work
> Deconfinement: what hygiene for self-service bikes, scooters and scooters?
The rector calls on the generosity of the pilgrims, inviting those who, for example, will not be able to go to Lourdes this summer to donate.