Paris (AFP)

After months of restrictions linked to Covid, the Fête de la Musique and its procession of mini-concerts is eagerly awaited Monday by fans, who will be able to feast their ears until late at night, but all the constraints have not been lifted.

"We prepared everything. We had reserved the cabinets and mixers for a month, just in case. We bought an arbor this morning, if it ever rains tonight," Damien, head of the Sold, told AFP. Out Burger in Paris.

Eight DJs follow one another from noon until evening on the terrace of the restaurant located not far from the Canal Saint-Martin.

"We will give the instruction to remain seated, to be careful," he assures us.

"But if people want to stand, what can we do?"

Because if the curfew has indeed been lifted since Sunday, wearing a mask remains recommended outside during concerts and gatherings of more than ten people on the public highway remain prohibited.

Vigilance remains in order, as well as health protocols for party and music venues: they will not be lifted until June 30, when concerts with standing audiences will again be authorized.

Mini-concerts in bars and restaurants are authorized for this 40th edition of the Music Festival, said Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot.

"Moderate aperitif, soft music", such is the program established by Gaël, of the Caravane in Paris.

"The other years, in the third part of the evening, a fanfare plays so that the public has fun in the whole street".

But this time the music will turn off at 10 p.m.

- "No illusion" -

“The group will be inside, facing out, and the public on terraces,” adds the boss of this establishment in eastern Paris.

Instructions will be given to spectators not to gather more than ten people, "but I am not deluding myself, people will not necessarily respect it".

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All the constraints have not been lifted, and communities, such as the city of Strasbourg, have preferred to cancel the planned festivities, regretting the late announcements of the government - which date from last week.

Among the events planned in Paris, is a show by Jean-Michel Jarre, pioneer of electro, accompanied by Marc Cerrone, at the Elysée Palace.

Two Radio France branches, FIP and France Inter, each organize a concert in the capital: eight artists, including Pete Doherty, the group L'Impératrice or les Belges de Balthazar, at the arenas of Lutèce during the FIP evening;

Fire!

Chatterton, Clara Luciani and the English from London Grammar, at L'Olympia, a concert broadcast on France Inter.

For any event of more than 1,000 people, the health pass is compulsory.

The maximum authorized tonnage indoors or outdoors always remains at 65% within the limit of 5,000 spectators, always in a seated configuration.

The Roland-Garros stadium has been transformed into a gigantic concert stage dedicated to the 1980s where around forty artists from Vianney to Patrick Bruel, including Kendji Girac and Benjamin Biolay, will perform in front of 4,000 spectators, seated and masked.

The show, presented by the duo Garou-Laury Thilleman, will be broadcast from 9 p.m. on France Télévisions.

Last year, due to a health crisis, the rules for the music festival were even stricter.

Groups could not be avoided, as on the quays of the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, with DJs performing house songs in front of a compact crowd of dancers.

© 2021 AFP