France, private castles on alert. "If museums don't reopen by Christmas, it's the end."

Cultural venues are not only having a hard time in Italy. Private owners of several castles in France are on high alert because if museum closures continue through the holiday season, the cost of the crisis could be unrecoverable. In an article published yesterday in Le Figaro, Claire Bommelaer took stock of the situation: it should be noted that Christmas and the holiday season are a busy time for private castles not only because, in France as in Italy, people travel more, but also because it is a tradition in France to organize Christmas-themed events in castles, which always attract a lot of visitors.

Castles known even outside France’s borders such as Chenonceau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Villandry, Rocher Portail, Maintenon, and many others could therefore find themselves paying a heavy price for the economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, some 30 private chateau owners have written a letter to the French government stating that if the confinement does not stop before Christmas, it could be the “coup de grace” for them. “The results of the summer,” the missive reads, “do not allow compensation for the abysmal losses caused by confinement in the spring. In this context, if the confinement is prolonged, it risks delivering the coup de grace to historic monuments that develop tourist or economic activity.”

For example, Bommelaer explains that in the Turenne department, castles organize a six-week series of events called Noël au Château, thanks to which the sites manage to derive 30 percent of their annual turnover. At the château of Vaux-le-Vicomte alone, among the first to kick off the tradition of Christmas events, the festivities attract about 100,000 visitors each year. This is also a resource for castles that are typically visited in the spring or summer period, such as the world-famous Château de Chenonceau, set in beautiful parkland, which, thanks to the Christmas festivities, has found a way to give continuity to its tourist flows even during a period that is traditionally low in attendance.

Then there is the problem of the workers: many will stay at home, but for others there is the opposite problem, because some contracts for Christmas have already been signed in June (for example, those for decorations, illuminations, and activities such as video mapping) and the owners of the activities, explains Alexandre de Vogué, owner of the château in Vaux-le-Vicomte, cannot withdraw. And there is great uncertainty because the French government still does not let them know when museums will be able to reopen, so cultural venues find themselves unable to do programming. So some, such as Chenonceau, have scaled back and in some cases canceled events, while others, such as Rocher, will try “everything for everything” and, says director Manuel Roussel, act “as if we were given permission to reopen on December 1.” These are no small matters, because any further closures will cast unknowns on the future. “Will it be possible to launch into major investments,” Bommelaer wonders, “if you are not even sure you can open?”

In short, if closures are prolonged, so many could face serious difficulties in 2021. “Christmas,” points out Ghislain de Castelbajeac, owner of the Château de Caumont, “would not make up for a complicated year, but monuments are businesses like any other: we have salaried workers, a turnover, and sometimes loans.”

France, private castles on alert. "If museums don't reopen by Christmas, it's the end."

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