Paris (AFP)

The government maintained a maximum capacity of 5,000 spectators in the stadiums on Tuesday when the football and rugby championships resumed, with possible exemptions, in a context of an upsurge in Covid-19 which heralds a difficult return to French professional clubs.

According to the decree published in the official journal on Tuesday, the prefects will be able from August 15 to raise the ceiling "exceptionally, after analysis of risk factors", depending on the local situation and the health measures taken by the event organizers . In theory, this possibility does not only apply to sporting events.

"In all cases, the barrier measures will apply (spectators seated, wearing a mask and minimum distance of a seat between groups of 10 people maximum coming together or having booked together)", explained in a statement the Ministry of Sports, while the images showing some PSG supporters not respecting social distancing during the friendly against Waasland-Beveren on July 17 had caused controversy.

The announcement was expected by all professional clubs who resume their season between August and September and hoped to refuel after six months of forced interruption.

- "Dressing on a wooden leg" -

"If we have to resume at the beginning of September with a limited audience, well it will still be better than nothing at all," had anticipated Pierre-Yves Revol, president of Castres Olympique, summarizing the general tone in the National Rugby League.

Despite everything, the concern remains very strong among the leaders: even with possible exemptions, the gauge of 5,000 people "would not be at all satisfactory for us, not even a bandage on a wooden leg", estimates Bernard Pontneau, president of the Section Paloise. “Let’s say it would be the start of death, 85% of our income is from people in the stadium”.

Compulsory masks, arrivals and departures in staggered groups in autonomous areas, an empty seat next to each occupied seat, air filtering system: Racing 92 has submitted its health protocol to the authorities to obtain the authorization of '' welcome around 14,000 spectators, or half of its capacity in rugby, at the Arena, its closed enclosure in La Défense.

If football can count on the comfortable income of television rights, the stakes are crucial for rugby: in Top 14 and Pro D2, "match day" income (partnerships and ticketing) represents an average of 60% of the clubs budget. .

But for Thomas Lombard, the general manager of Stade Français, they will be down respectively 30 and 25% in the best case, for a general budget down 20%. "Everyone is sailing on sight," he told AFP.

- How to choose ? -

And how will the clubs choose their 5,000 spectators? “It's almost impossible, I don't even dare to think about it!” Laments Bernard Pontneau, who has 8,500 followers between subscribers and partners.

The selection would be even more painful to operate in the big football clubs: in Marseille, the South Winners and their 7,000 members alone would exceed the gauge.

Friday, the final of the French Football Cup won by PSG on Saint-Etienne took place in a Stade de France with 81,000 seats almost empty (2,805 spectators), despite calls from the boss of French football, Noël Le Graët , to increase the gauge.

The images showing the same evening the presence of 12,000 people in the stands at Puy-du-Fou did not escape the sporting community, where we wondered about such a difference in treatment, even if in the end the park of he Vendée attraction announced on Sunday that it was back to a limit of 5,000.

Beyond team sports, the question also arises for the cycling Tour de France, which is due to start on August 29 in Nice, and for the tennis tournament at Roland-Garros (September 27).

In early July, the organizers of the French tournament announced their intention to welcome up to 20,000 spectators per day on all the courts, with a limit set at 10,000 for the finals, or 50 to 60% of the usual tonnage.

© 2020 AFP