The world of culture, forced to adapt to the new health measures against the Covid-19, quickly turned around after the ban on outings after 9 p.m. decreed in Ile-de-France and in eight French metropolises.
Report in Paris on Saturday, October 17, the day the curfew came into effect.
8:25 am, the cinema wakes up
One hour ahead of its usual schedules, the MK2 Beaubourg (Paris, 3rd arrondissement) opened new very early morning sessions this Saturday.
To compensate for the disappearance of the evening screenings, the network will generalize these openings from 8 am from Wednesday.
With a quarter of an hour ahead of his 8:25 am session, Christophe, 48, shows up at the counter.
“I have just dropped off my wife and children at the Gare de Lyon and, as I had planned to see
Drunk
today
(Editor's note: Thomas Vinterberg's new film on four friends who decide to drink to improve their lives)
, this morning schedule suits me well.
It's special to see people stamping themselves on the screen as the day rises, but it reminds me a bit of the Cannes Film Festival at 8:30 am, ”smiles this journalist specializing in short films.
Stéphanie, a 46-year-old librarian, also comes to see “Drunk”.
“I'm used to the first sessions, I love the calm that reigns there.
I have been up for 6 hours, I have already prepared a cake, the housework is done, the earlier the film, the more I take the opportunity to do other things afterwards, ”she says.
In the room, the spectators will count on the fingers of one hand for this premiere.
Two others came for the documentary “Israel, the forbidden journey”.
"I'm used to getting up early and I really wanted to see this film, so it's ideal," says Frédéric, 60 years old.
Three films are scheduled between 8:40 am and 8:50 am.
Again, they attract only a handful of spectators, some of whom are confused.
Arrival at 8:55 am, Claire, 62, does not understand: “My program announced
La Première Marche
at 9:20 am and, there, I see 8:40 am!
By hurrying, she will only miss the first few minutes.
On the other hand, this last minute change of schedule prompts Michaël, a 46-year-old engineer who had traveled from Boulogne, to wait for a next session.
Noon, time for laughter
Mecca of stand-up in Paris, the Paname Art Café used to offer brunch shows on weekends.
From Monday, deprived of evening shows, he will do the same on weekdays during the All Saints holidays.
Bad pick this Saturday: the first session at 11:45 am was canceled for lack of reservations.
Alice and Clémentine will be back tomorrow.
“We need to do good and laugh right now, they slip.
Everyone adapts.
"
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On a table, the comedian Hugo Tout Seul polishes his texts.
“We have to play and give people a show,” he insists.
Julien and Sandra are waiting for the one o'clock performance.
“I like to discover artists here that you don't see elsewhere.
With the curfew, we learn to have fun off-beat, even if it's a deprivation of liberty.
The couple will then go to Crazy Horse Paris at… 6 pm, instead of 8:30 pm.
"The organization of the weekend has been turned upside down, but we will be able to do everything we had planned", assures Julien, who comes from Perpignan.
Next week, the stand-up platters at Paname will bring together, as usual, young comedians and stars testing their jokes (Gad Elmaleh, Nawell Madani and Mathieu Madénian are regulars).
But sooner than usual!
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2 p.m., curtain raising at the Antoine theater
At the Antoine Theater, the performance of "Par le bout du nez", brought forward to 2 pm, is held in a half-full room./LP/Valentine Rousseau
No time for dessert: the play “Par le bout du nez”, with François Berléand and François-Xavier Demaison, is now scheduled at 2 pm at the Antoine Theater (Paris, 10th arrondissement), compared to 9 pm usually.
"Nobody asked for reimbursement, the public supports us a lot", smiles the director Stéphanie Bataille, who has not slept "for two days".
The room will be half full.
Those who could not come requested a postponement.
Philippe, from Châteaufort (Yvelines), says he is “ready to book in the morning to support theaters.
We go there once or twice a month and it is important to make an activist gesture.
I think this curfew will impact cultivation and catering a little more without stemming the epidemic.
I want to continue to live as normally as possible.
Coming at 2 p.m. is a lesser evil for us.
Bruno, a Parisian, canceled his wine tasting session to applaud the play in the afternoon.
“This curfew does not make our life easier, but we will adapt…” Manon, 27, says she is “ready to come back to support theaters.
There is no reason that we can take the crowded transport and that this poses a problem in theaters and cinemas where a place separates each group of spectators.
"
The director motivates her troops, repeating over and over again this Japanese proverb: "Seven times on the ground, eight times standing".
The public slips “Hold on”, “Courage!
".
An employee takes the temperature of the entrants.
In the room, before the curtain rises, an agent launches the play: “The Antoine theater thanks you for this proof of love, thank you for keeping the theater alive, alive!
“At 3:30 pm, it's a standing ovation.
“We take hits, we are KO standing, but we are doing well, the piece is a hit, testifies François-Xavier Demaison.
It is painful to see small theaters closed.
The fat ones are getting thinner, the thin ones are dying.
"Also director of the Théâtre de l'Oeuvre, François-Xavier Demaison managed to keep" Adieu Monsieur Haffmann "on the bill.
But, there too, with schedule changes: Friday and Saturday at 6.30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
READ ALSO>
Curfew: stupor and fury in Parisian theaters
6:50 p.m., already the last session
This Saturday evening, it was necessary to go between 6 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. to see the last films scheduled for the day in the dark rooms.
“Usually, we come later, but hey, we have to adapt well”.
Romain and Laura, 34 and 30 years old, came to UGC Bercy (Paris, 12th century) to see “Petit Pays”.
End of the session scheduled for 8:15 p.m.
Enough to allow them to come home before 9 pm: they live in the neighborhood.
It's more complicated for Lyna, a 50-year-old account manager.
“Me, I come from Essonne, so it will not be possible to return.
But I'll go and sleep with my girlfriend next door.
It is especially annoying to think that we will not be able to go to the restaurant after the session.
Now, I understand that restrictions are being put in place at the moment, I hope we will be quiet for the holiday season.
"
Anissa, Kristy and Evelyne, three friends in their twenties, come out of the previous session of "The Good Criminal".
"That way, we went out at 6.30pm: later it was not possible, because we all come from the suburbs, from Val-d'Oise, from Essonne and from Yvelines", details the first.
Couples, groups of friends and a few rare families flock to the counters to take their seats.
"Usually I come every Saturday and at least once a week in the evening, now it will only be Saturday," says Nenad, 50.
But hey, I still make my subscription profitable!
"