France, minister proposes curfew waiver for cinemas and theaters. But the government holds back

It seems that the proposal of the French minister of culture, Roselyne Bachelot, who had hypothesized a small exception to the curfew (which from midnight today goes into effect in some large cities in France: from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. one will not be able to move from home except for urgent reasons) to defend cinemas and theaters will not be implemented. In fact, the world of culture, as we reported on these pages, had protested yesterday the measure announced by the president of the republic Emmanuel Macron, considered too punitive for theaters, since, since the reopening in June until today, there have been no cases of contagion among spectators.

Bachelot, in an interview with the daily newspaper Le Parisien, proposed a very simple measure that has been advocated by several people in the industry: the possibility of using the show’s ticket as a certificate to be able to go to the cinema or theater and return home even after 9 p.m. At the beginning of October, Bachelot had said that a place of culture is safer than a family visit, but now the situation, the minister said in the interview, has deteriorated, and the measure imposed by the government particularly affects the culture sector. However, she also said that “in this context I am trying to build, with the culture workers, accompanying measures that will allow them to go through this period. I am mediating between the world of culture and the government so that some loosening, if possible in view of the severity of the health crisis, can be put in place in the best way.”

And the loosening could be specifically about the time of return to one’s home. “What [movie theaters and performance halls] would like,” Bachelot said, “is if anything, to consider that 9 p.m. should not be considered the time to be at home but, for those who have a ticket for a performance or a movie, the time to leave the theater. This seems reasonable to me. It takes people thirty minutes or at most an hour to get back, or as long as it will take, and the ticket will serve as a justification. The government will look at this proposal, obviously reserving the right to evaluate it as the health situation develops.”

In the meantime, several theaters in France have moved up their performance schedules-their desire is to continue working. “They do not want to play the aid or layoff card,” the minister concluded, “even though these are fundamental measures that we put in place in the spring.”

However, as anticipated, it seems that the government is not willing to give in. Indeed, Prime Minister Jean Castex said today that “the rules are the same for everyone” and that for culture there will be no discounts. As of yet, there is no statement from Minister Bachelot.

Pictured: Roselyne Bachelot

France, minister proposes curfew waiver for cinemas and theaters. But the government holds back

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