At Medellin, a club located a stone's throw from the Alma bridge in Paris, the room is full for this first day of the reopening of nightclubs, or rather second as far as this place is concerned.

"We opened at midnight sharp last night, as the law allowed us to do," explains David Benhamou, club manager, with a smile, keeping an eye on the room full of customers.

Once the vaccine pass is presented, the atmosphere is furiously reminiscent of what it was like to go out before the pandemic: the masks disappear, social distancing is no longer appropriate.

To the sound of Latin rhythms, dance floor aficionados take full advantage of their newfound freedom, in compliance with the new rules laid down by the government for night establishments.

For his friend Maxime, outings in recent months have been "with friends and in an apartment. But we clearly don't have the same atmosphere in this kind of place, that's why it's nice to be back".

Because French nightclubs have been hard hit since the start of the pandemic in February 2020 in France, closed for more than 18 months over the two years of health crisis.

If the Minister Delegate for Tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne praised Tuesday "the professionalism and the seriousness of the night world", the nightclubs, closed since December 10, were impatiently waiting to be able to find their customers.

Additional difficulties

At the Sacré, a club located not far from the Grands Boulevards, this closing period has not been inactive either, with the obligation to review all of the venue's programming, which also offers concerts.

"We took the opportunity to do some work, refurbish the club, hoping to be able to work, this time without closing", explains Mr. Benhamou.

From February 16, dancing in a disco, having a drink at the bar or attending a concert is again allowed in France Brendan Smialowski AFP / Archives

"The programming of a room like ours is worked on months in advance, a two-month closure completely disrupts our agenda and generates additional costs, which have already been incurred", explains Martin Munier, co-founder of the club.

Especially since if this reopening relieves professionals, the succession of closures imposed in less than two years will leave traces, despite the aid announced by the State in December.

"Certainly the government has announced that it will take charge of 100% of our fixed costs, but that does not cover the shortfall. Our activity is seasonal, the winter profits must cover our months of closure in the summer. How to pay our charges on these months without activity remains a real question", explains Martin Munier.

"We have been lucky because, despite the long periods of closure, we have recovered more than 80% of our staff. But some places have lost almost all of theirs: when for two years you can no longer work, some are retraining and looking for a job elsewhere", underlines David Benhamou.

But for Medellin customers, the important thing is to "party", as Josépha, 21, repeats.

"I really missed it. If there is no nightclub, we do without it, but it's still better. The people are nice, that's where we have fun, where we fate, that we dance, it's super important. It's a pleasure to be there this evening", assures the young woman.

"We are ready to quickly resume our cruising speed! Tonight we are already full", assures Mr. Munier.

A sign that the night owls were just waiting for the opportunity to repopulate the Parisian night.

© 2022 AFP