"
Not essential
".
These are the words displayed on the facade of the Olympia on Tuesday.
Instead of announcing the artists on the bill, the red neon lights of the famous Parisian music hall this time expressed the concern of the world of culture.
The choice of words recalls the designation "
non-essential
" used by the executive to designate the places that must close the time of confinement.
However, the reopening of theaters and cinemas, scheduled for December 15, remains uncertain, the Covid-19 epidemic still being very active as Christmas approaches.
The prospect of failing to reach the threshold of 5,000 detected cases of the new coronavirus in mid-December places the government in a dilemma, because Emmanuel Macron has made it a condition for entering the second phase of relief of health measures, after the reopening of shops on November 28.
"
Will the figures require a review of the advertised copy?"
It is too early to say it,
”says one now in the entourage of Prime Minister Jean Castex, who is to speak Thursday, the day after a new defense council.
"
The roller coaster
"
On the cultural side, operators of cinema, theaters and museums underline their discouragement.
"
These are the emotional roller coasters, we are no longer sure of anything
", testifies Aurélie Delage, patron of the Megarama of Garat, in Charente, and representative of medium-sized operators at the Federation of cinemas.
Not to reopen on the 15th, "
it would be a real blow, a blow of the hammer
" while "
the rooms have prepared to reopen, made their programs, put their teams back in place
".
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France is "
still far from the goal of going below the 5000 mark
", warned the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon.
Last week, the epidemic stagnated around 10,000 new cases daily.
On Tuesday, Public Health France counted more than 13,000 new cases of contamination.
The main fear of the government is that the circulation of the virus will not be low enough at the critical time of the Christmas and New Years holidays, when family reunions will increase and pose the risk of a restart of the. epidemic.
The hypothesis of postponing the reopening of cinemas is already creating resentment among exhibitors.
"
I am scandalized, because supermarkets can accommodate everyone
", storms Arnaud Vialle, boss of the Rex cinema in Sarlat, Dordogne, who has prepared for December 15, from the Christmas tree to sessions for schoolchildren .
Exhausting and discouraging
"
It's exhausting and discouraging for the teams and for the public, with a feeling of incomprehension
", also sighs Benoît Lavigne, general manager of the Théâtre Lucernaire in Paris.
“
In theaters and cinemas, all the rules are respected and besides that, the 24th and 25th there are no restrictions, people can leave by train and by plane.
It doesn't make sense,
”he adds.
For the head of the infectious diseases department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, Eric Caumes, “
it's a balance between risk and benefit
”.
“
On the one hand there is the risk of restarting the epidemic
”, but “
I don't think it would restart inside a theater or a cinema.
And the psychological, social and economic impact is still more and more important
”, argued the infectious disease specialist on France Inter.
