9 out of 10 French people worried about resuming a cultural activity

Almost four weeks after the end of confinement, the culture environment attempts a gradual return to normal. Museums and monuments have been able to welcome visitors all over the country since Tuesday. Theaters and cinemas are about to reopen from June 22, with appropriate sanitary measures.

According to a study carried out by the ticketing company Weezevent in partnership with Ifop, 9 out of 10 French people are worried about practicing entertainment activities in the current context.

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Conducted with a panel of 1,017 individuals from May 18 to 20, 2020, i.e. during the first phase of deconfinement, this survey made it possible to assess the way in which the French project themselves vis-à-vis the practice of entertainment and participation in events in this post-containment period. While 9 out of 10 French people participate in a cultural activity in “normal time”, 93% of them declare themselves today “in need”.

Apprehension for activities involving physical proximity

We notice that it is the most immersive activities that are most lacking in the French. Behind the practice of amateur sport, access to festivals, sporting events, theme parks and nightclubs. Next come concerts and shows, on par with cinema.

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This lack felt by most of the people interviewed, however, is not enough to hide their concern at the idea of ​​resuming these activities. Thus, 93% of them admit to feeling apprehensive, particularly for cultural practices involving close physical proximity, such as nightclubs, festivals, fairs and shows, and concerts and shows. As for the return to museums, where the flow of visitors is easier to regulate, it seems little alarming for a majority, since 65% of French people admit to feeling only a slight concern or even not being at all worried about it. idea of ​​setting foot there again.

Will this be enough to give them the desire and the desire to return to their cultural practices? Still according to this study, only a minority of French people think of going to the museum (19%) and the cinema again (16%), and to concert and performance halls (13%) as soon as they open, the majority preferring to wait a few weeks or even a few months. 85% of those questioned said, at the same time, that they wanted to maintain or even increase their entertainment budget.

"Our economic model will not hold up"

Encouraging figures for professionals in the sector, who already fear being weakened by the social distancing applied within their establishments. “You have to understand that removing chairs or spacing people upright is to reduce the gauge. Our economic model is not going to hold up, ” said Malika Séguineau, director general of Prodiss, the lobby of producers and owners of concert halls, to Le Figaro .

Read also: Coronavirus: one museum in ten may never reopen according to UNESCO

More confident, Jocelyn Bouyssy, CEO of the CGR group (702 cinemas and 25 million spectators per year), expects spectators to find cinemas. “ People are thirsty for something else after spending more than two months on the platforms. "