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"We are pleasantly surprised": winning bet for the rare nightclubs that have reopened

2021-08-13T13:51:02.388Z


Authorized to reopen since July 9, the discotheques which have regained their public are full. Then we dance ? After a year and a half of closure, the discotheques can once again welcome their customers since July 9. The nightclubs that have resumed their activity benefit in particular from a young clientele who impatiently awaited the reopening of establishments to party. Read also: Health pass: will companies have to pay for the Covid tests of their employees? “ We are full every night,


Then we dance ?

After a year and a half of closure, the discotheques can once again welcome their customers since July 9.

The nightclubs that have resumed their activity benefit in particular from a young clientele who impatiently awaited the reopening of establishments to party.

Read also: Health pass: will companies have to pay for the Covid tests of their employees?

We are full every night,

” congratulates Franck Bywalski, owner of the

La Grande

nightclub

, located opposite the Grande Plage in Biarritz. Despite the reception level reduced to 75%, one of the conditions imposed by the government on the sector, one of the only two clubs that remained open in town welcomes 234 people every evening and "

refuses a lot of people

". A real success, which also notes the person in charge of

the Apogée

, in Royan: with 310 daily entries, “

we are full every evening from 1 am

”, he rejoices.

The summer season is therefore a very good surprise for these establishment managers, who were worried about a recovery that was difficult to organize and a heavy health pass to bear.

The boss of

Kissing

, in the Cotentin, believes that "it

was absolutely necessary to reopen

".

Rodrigue Audouard, who took over this family club after his father, depends entirely on the summer season, fortunately rather good: after a late opening in July, the boss was "

surprised

" and had to refuse 350 people on the first Saturday evening .

"The boxes are the place where one finds the life of before"

Christian Jouny, National Union of Discotheques and Leisure Places (SNDLL).

Inside the nightclubs, the masks fall, the glasses are full, the music makes the guests dance. The general delegate of the National Union of Discotheques and Leisure Places (SNDLL) is certain: "

the customers were just waiting for that

". For Christian Jouny, “

the clubs are the place where one finds the life of before

”, and the regulars are delighted to come back. Some are so motivated that they are ready to cheat, says Franck Bywalski. The scenario is the same at

Kissing

or at

the Apogee:

they try to pass through the cracks by keeping their masks so as not to be identified or by pulling out bundles of tickets instead of the pass!

», Astonished Rodrigue Audouard. The boss insists,"

the young people let go

”, sometimes even a little too much,“

because once the door is passed, there are no more barrier gestures

”.

The establishments are also benefiting from the appetite of young people for the party: in

Kissing,

the average basket of customers has increased since the recovery.

A future still uncertain

And yet, nothing was won in advance for the nightlife. Among the concerns of these leaders, the health pass required at entry, including for rather young customers and less vaccinated, could limit attendance. Of course, unvaccinated people can also present a negative antigen test or RT-PCR to gain access to the disco; but are they ready to take a test to go dancing? The directors of establishments assure that yes: for

L'Apogée,

it is not a problem. "

They are too keen to party

", confides the boss, enthusiastically: nearly a hundred people are thus tested every evening in front of his establishment to return. At the

Kissing

, a tent dedicated to tests has been set up in the parking lot opposite: nearly 20% of customers are tested there every evening.

Still, all the boxes have not regained their presence.

According to the SNDLL, "

only 25% of establishments reopened on July 9

".

"

The first three nights, I told myself that it was a disaster, I refused more customers than I accepted

", remembers Christian Jouny, himself owner of three establishments.

The general secretary of the union has entered into partnerships with pharmacies close to its nightclubs, to carry out antigenic tests which are essential for some of its customers: "

everything depends on the means to allow access to the unvaccinated,

" he believes. he.

In addition to health logistics, there are other difficulties which "

scared

" professionals, underlines the manager of

La Grande:

establishments are, for example, facing significant recruitment difficulties, while many professionals in the sector have joined forces. directed to other professions during confinement. The 75% gauge also held back the larger nightclubs, for which opening was not profitable.

At the end of August, these different subjects will be discussed during a consultation planned with Alain Griset, the Minister Delegate in charge of small and medium-sized enterprises. The sector hopes in particular to know if the aid granted to nightclubs will be extended beyond the summer. For the time being, the few open establishments hope that the French desire for celebration, synonymous with frenzied evenings, will last until the end of the month at least. The current observation is rather encouraging, pushing

La Grande, Le Kissing

and

L'Apogée

all to draw the same conclusion: “

we have no regrets about having reopened

”.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2021-08-13

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