A small dose of comfort when we learned this Wednesday that the Festival d'Avignon 2020 would not take place? Auditioned Thursday afternoon for 3 hours by the Senate Culture Committee on the consequences of the coronavirus on its sector, Franck Riester announced a gesture in favor of the private theater. "A plan managed by the National Syndicate of private theater (SNTP) and endowed with at least 5 million euros has just been put in place," said the Minister of Culture to the committee's twenty or so senators.
For the time being, the Minister has said no more. If this fund obviously concerns all the theaters of France and overseas, Franck Riester said that the town hall of Paris was involved in the project. "The idea is like for festivals and museums to accompany private and unsubsidized rooms in this dramatic period," he simply added.
"30,000 to 40,000 euros per structure, it's pretty paltry"
For the actors of the sector, the sum is still largely insufficient. “Five million is a big number, but when you relate it to the number of companies involved, it's thin, says a Parisian theater producer. We are talking about 30 to 40,000 euros per structure, it is quite paltry… ”
Already very weakened by the social conflict and the strikes at the end of 2019, theaters that have not been playing for more than a month now find themselves facing a major financial crisis. Many small rooms may never recover.
Just a month ago, the SNTP invited spectators not to be reimbursed for their tickets already purchased for canceled parts. "Since we don't know the closing time, if we can postpone, it's better, and we all prefer to postpone ... The priority is that they are patient and that they have a little goodwill for the environment. spectacle ”, explained Bertrand Thamin, president of SNDTP and director of the Montparnasse theater. The theater will need benevolence for a long time yet…