The Minister for SMEs, Alain Griset, announced Friday financial aid for nightclubs, closed for four months due to the coronavirus pandemic and which urged the government to grant it a "rescue plan". At the end of a meeting with representatives of the nightlife, the minister confirmed that "there is no scheduled date for reopening" establishments in the sector, while unveiling a support system fixed costs of festive establishments.
Costs covered up to 15,000 euros per month
Rents, water and electricity bills and other costs will be covered up to a maximum of 15,000 euros per month, for three months, instead of 5,000 euros initially provided for in the aid measures for companies threatened with bankruptcy. "This ceiling covers the charges of around 85% to 90% of establishments in the nightlife", Alain Griset told the press. The ministry estimates the total cost of the measure at 50 million euros for 1,600 companies concerned.
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From September 10, establishments in the nightlife will benefit from exemptions to have access to aid from the solidarity fund for businesses, set up to deal with the economic crisis caused by Covid-19. The criteria of turnover, number of employees, loss of income will no longer apply to companies in this sector in order "not to have any risk of business closures," said Alain Griset.
This "does not meet all of our requests"
Representatives of the sector, the National Group of Independent Hotel and Catering Industry (GNI-HCR), the French Association of Discotheque and Dance Center Operators (AFEDD), the Union of Hospitality Trades and Industries (UMIH) and the National Union of Discotheques and Leisure Places (SNDLL) welcomed the consideration of the difficulties of their businesses. "The meeting was interesting, with very rapid decision-making which will allow us to hold out for a few more weeks with this crisis", declared Michaël Fox, of the GNI.
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But the SNDLL notes that "the content of the exchanges does not meet all our demands", in particular the long-awaited reopening of the establishments. "Today, we are on a drip but it is not with aid that we are going to get by, it is absolutely necessary that we can meet the Minister of Health to know how to reopen as quickly as possible", pleaded Michael Fox.
On July 12, during a demonstration alongside some 200 professionals in the sector in Paris, Matthieu Lebrun, the spokesperson for the managers of Normandy nightclubs, estimated that "half of the clubs (were going) to disappear", or about 800 nightclubs, if a reopening was not decreed until September.