She jumped on the train in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).
For a twenty minute journey.
And hurry now, on Boulevard Albert-Ier, facing the port, flooded with sunlight.
Miss the start of the session?
Not even in dreams!
The screenings offered by the Audiovisual Institute of Monaco, for Edith, are "an extraordinary chance, an oxygen bubble".
"It cheers me up, you can't imagine!"
And it gives me crazy energy.
By coming here, I can measure what I miss, ”observes the French retiree, passionate about cinema.
This Tuesday afternoon, the Italian film “Mafioso”, by Alberto Lattuada, will be screened at the Variety Theater.
One activity among others.
Because here, in Monaco, cultural life is not at a standstill, as with its French neighbor.
Theaters, museums, performance halls welcome the public, following a strict health protocol.
Only the cinema, too dependent on French releases, all postponed, keeps the curtain down.
Cinema screening this Tuesday afternoon at the Théâtre des Variétés in Monaco.
The sanitary protocol is strict./LP/ Jean-Baptiste Quentin
"It is a will of the Sovereign and the Princess of Hanover who asked the princely government to implement health measures to allow the reception of spectators and artists, explains Françoise Gamerdinger, director of cultural affairs of the principality, equivalent to a ministerial post.
For each structure, a procedure is written and then validated by the social and health action department.
"
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Careful organization and titanic work for the teams.
They must adapt to each new measurement whereas, currently, between 10 and 30 new contaminations are recorded each day in this city-state which counts 38,000 inhabitants.
“Right now, when we work on culture in Monaco, we start very early and finish very late,” smiles the director.
But we are passionate.
Even the day when we have to go to the theaters with a mask and a snorkel, we will.
It is essential, obvious.
We cannot feed only on the virtual.
You have to have this exchange of emotions.
"
"Even couples, we separate them!"
How is this drastic protocol going?
The season resumed this summer, with an enhanced program at Fort Antoine, an outdoor theater.
In the rooms, a seat is left empty between two spectators, all masked and staggered, from one row to another.
“Even couples, we separate them!
», Insists Françoise Gamerdinger.
The rows come out one by one, following a signposted route.
The sessions, curfew at 7 p.m. obliges, were brought forward to 3 p.m.
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Does the audience follow?
"At half-gauge, we are often full," welcomes the manager, who even launched a seduction operation in November with places at 5 euros for a month.
The delighted French neighbors represent a large part of the spectators.
Françoise Gamerdinger, Director of Cultural Affairs of Monaco, at the Princess Grace Theater. / LP / Jean-Baptiste Quentin
On the artist side, too, we do not skimp on the means.
“Our musicians, attached to the Opera, are tested every three days, like the dancers of the Monte-Carlo ballet.
It allows us traceability in the slightest case, ”emphasizes Didier de Cottignies, artistic delegate of the Monaco Symphony Orchestra.
The layout of the latter has been revised.
The wind players were placed elsewhere, with more distance.
And Plexiglas walls separate the musicians.
For large productions, a code with badges of different colors has been deployed so that artists, technicians and spectators do not cross paths.
Performances with choirs have been postponed.
“We redoubled our work and imagination to find solutions,” admits the delegate.
We adapt.
Each week is enough its trouble!
"
The performance stops due to Covid
And no question of procrastinating.
As on December 30, at the premiere of “Lac”, a contemporary version of “Swan Lake”, by the Monte-Carlo ballet.
That day, a test result arrives half an hour after the start of the performance: three dancers test positive for Covid, everything is interrupted.
"The curtain fell suddenly, right in the middle", says Brigitte, a Frenchwoman who was in the room.
Some shows have also been canceled by the productions.
Question of profitability or organization.
But most of them held on.
Stéphane Bern played his only-on-stage in mid-January.
Gad Elmaleh rode his new show there.
"Musicians call me to ask me to play them," notes Didier de Cottignies.
The contact and the pleasure of the public is irreplaceable.
The baritone who performs Athanaël in the
Thaïs
opera
received a standing ovation from the first scene.
He had tears in his eyes.
He hadn't sung for six months.
"
No cluster was found in the theaters or museums of the principality, around ten establishments in total.
Half as many visitors to the Oceanographic Museum
You have to leave the port, its large buildings with brilliant white facades and its enormous yachts to arrive at the Oceanographic Museum, perched at the top of the Rock, very close to the princely palace.
Here too, we measure our luck.
"We feel privileged but also sad for our French colleagues," recognizes Robert Calcagno, director of this 110-year-old institution.
They are very curious about the way we receive the public.
Attendance, usually 650,000 visitors per year, has been halved because of the crisis.
This poses an economic problem for us.
But it allows us to improve the quality of the reception.
"
All the visitors to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco this Tuesday morning are French. / LP / Jean-Baptiste Quentin
On this Tuesday morning, there are no crowds in the immense neo-baroque building which overlooks the sea. All the visitors come across are French.
In the tropical species room, in the middle of the aquariums, Fatima shoots a clownfish with her phone.
"We're like children," laughs the young woman, originally from Brignoles (Var), who came to Monaco with her companion to "get some fresh air".
Here, we have the impression of living again, of going back to a time when the Covid did not exist!
Just walking, seeing open restaurants, museums, theaters, it's such a pleasure!
"
Same feeling for Laurence, fascinated by Immersion, a 360-degree digital installation that plunges her into the Great Barrier Reef.
“We had to go skiing, but everything is closed, so we came here,” says the Marseillaise, who works in a supermarket.
We are piled up at work, in transport, so a museum, I don't see how that would be more dangerous?
"
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A shared opinion.
“What is France waiting for?
»Asks a Nice retiree.
"It is a strong signal that we are sending, assumes Françoise Gamerdinger.
We are a good example.
"Monaco is smaller, that's the advantage," remarks Didier de Cottignies.
Administrative millefeuille has fewer layers than in France, it's easier to make decisions.
In any case, we show that it is possible.
»In Monaco, the budget allocated to culture represents 6% of the overall budget.
Against less than 0.7% on the French side.