[This article was produced by students from the Sciences-po journalism school as part of a partnership with Le Parisien]
“I don't have a depression, but…” In his Parisian apartment, Arthur, 25, yearns for the nightclub.
"Disconnecting your brain, dancing with your friends arm in arm, I miss this communion", says this computer consultant.
For fear of infecting his grandparents, he refuses to go to the underground parties where some of his friends go.
In the meantime, Arthur compensates.
“With the food.
It shows, I think, ”he sighs, pointing to the taut buttons of his shirt.
For him, the party therefore ended on March 14, 2020. That evening, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the closure of restaurants, cafes, cinemas and nightclubs, to cope with the explosion of the epidemic.
At midnight, the time of publication of the decree, the police evacuate the streets of thirst, still full of revelers.
Almost a year later, the doors of nightclubs are still closed.
131 clubs closed in 2020
Behind the scenes, the debts are piling up.
La Plage, the largest nightclub in Europe with its seven rooms and 10,000 m2 in the heart of Bordeaux, has lost at least 190,000 euros over the past ten months.
"If we do not have real help, it will not be okay", laments his boss, Patrick Lalanne.
Solidarity fund, support for fixed costs and partial activity, loan guaranteed by the State… In recent months, the government has nevertheless taken a series of measures to prevent the sector from sinking.
But that would not be enough.
Patrick Malvaës, president of the National Union of discotheques and places of leisure, assures to have carried out an "internal survey".
According to him, “around 250” nightclubs have been closed since the start of the health crisis.
As for the Union of Trades and Hospitality Industries, the figures are more nuanced.
Of the 1,600 clubs in the country, 131 were placed in liquidation in 2020. 243 clubs would be subject to collective proceedings, due to lack of resources, but these have not yet closed permanently.
So, who is right ?
How many nightclubs have really gone out of business?
Difficult to say: when contacted, the network of Chambers of Commerce, the National Council of Court Administrators and the unions are passing the buck.
No figures to communicate.
Le Parisien therefore tried to reach commercial courts which manage proceedings at the local level.
In Antibes, Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) or Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), which have a high concentration of nightclubs, none has initiated collective proceedings.
Nothing unusual either at the level of the national register of commerce and companies.
Some places are being converted
"For the moment, the discotheques hold with their own funds and the aid measures, they are on a drip", summarizes Robert Martin, president of the commercial court of Antibes.
According to him, everything will play out during the "restart of activity and the end of state aid".
Beyond the figures, some bosses are finding other solutions to put the spotlight on nightclubs and their 43,000 employees.
The initiative of Thierry Llamas in particular made noise.
The manager of Ted, 15 minutes from Lyon, proposed to the Regional Health Agency (ARS) to set up a vaccination space.
“It's the only way to make ourselves known, to ensure that we are remembered.
"But" there is no need in the matter ", objects the ARS.
And for good reason, 99 vaccination centers are already open in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
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To make up for the shortfall, others are trying to stay open in a different way, like the Rex Club, in the basement of the legendary Parisian cinema.
In addition to a podcast produced with Arte, the establishment rents its premises to production companies.
"It took away a thorn in our side," blows the communicator Victorien Jacquemond, who however fears having to wait "next year" to restart his activity.
Régis Toutain now lives on additional income.
At 36, the manager of the Missyl de Pontivy (Morbihan) earns 1,300 euros per month as a truck driver for a building company.
Or half of his usual cash flow.
"When you have no choice to eat ... You have no choice," resigned the boss of four employees.
“We all can't wait for it to reopen, to party.
"
"We all can't wait for it to reopen, to party"
Maëlys is also eager to push back the dance floor.
This 21-year-old student met her friends there every week.
One way for her to unwind.
And to juggle between his “two parallel lives”: work, responsibilities and stress on one side, letting go of the weekend on the other.
"Without this outlet, bad energies accumulate", advance France Schott-Billmann, psychoanalyst and dance therapist.
“Either we can explode, in meanness, rage, or anger, or we keep everything inside and we are sad or in depression.
"
Maëlys wears makeup as if she was going to a party.
Anton stolper
Dancing in a box activates the “pleasure circuits” in our brain, explains Charlotte Jacquemot, cognitive science researcher at the CNRS.
Dopamine, endorphin and adrenaline: dancing leads to the production of molecules that make people feel happy and motivate decision-making.
Swinging around with other party-goers also initiates “group activity synchrony mechanisms”, which in turn stimulate neural circuits of well-being.
“What I miss the most is meeting other people,” laments Mélody, a 25-year-old teacher and regular at Le Phare, a club in Upper Rhine where she spent every Friday and Saturday evening.
“Everyone misses the party, not because everyone is celebrating but because it represents a certain type of sociability”, maintains Emmanuelle Lallement, anthropologist of cultural practices and parties.
Example among others: LGBTQI + evenings in Parisian clubs allowed Gabriel to “fully experience” his homosexuality.
Today, he is preparing his aggregation in history and trying to fill the absence of nightclubs with Grindr, a dating app for men.
“When you pick up someone in a gay club, you're pretty sure that person might be interested in you.
While elsewhere, there is always the risk of being beaten up, ”adds Samy, a student by day and a drag queen by night.
So singles like him can't wait to get back to the dancefloor.
But in how long?
Since the nightclubs closed, Gabriel has met new people on the apps.
Anton stolper
Through his cabinet, the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) informed the Parisian that he "cannot, given the complexity of the health situation, give perspective" on a possible recovery date.
"There will be different recovery times depending on the companies, and the government will not abandon those which are in difficulty", assures Bercy.
But it is impossible to know, for the moment, under what conditions the hexagonal dance floors will be able to tremble again under the effect of the crowds.
Rapid entry tests, physical distancing, wearing a mask?
In the meantime, some anticipate by taking symbolic actions.
Transformed into Covid-19 screening centers over three weekends, gay clubs Le Dépôt and Sun City distributed bracelets to people who tested negative.
“The objective was to show that we have solutions to ensure secure events in the future,” says Michel Mau, the artistic director of the two establishments.
Reinvent yourself to continue to exist after the Covid?
Some countries are already going further.
In New Zealand, where nightclubs have closed for only a few weeks since the start of the pandemic, revelers must present a QR code to disclose their identity and facilitate the tracing of contact cases.
Gauges of 10 to 100 people were sometimes put in place when the contamination curve rose.
In Lebanon and Australia, nightclubs have even imposed a temporary "dance ban" in order to be able to open their doors.
What to inspire France?
“If it's a quick saliva test on entry, that's fine.
But if we put ourselves under cover with obligatory masks and distances, we will all go crazy!
", Gets carried away Thierry Llamas, Lyon manager of Ted where 800 to 1000 people let off steam every weekend.
Even more categorical response from Victorien Jacquemond, from the Rex Club.
“One person every 4 m2 as in companies, that will not be possible.
If that's it, I'll go out of business, anticipates this electronic music fan.
And then we are not here to police… ”
Getting ready to go to a nightclub, a ritual from the world before.
Anton stolper
On the user side, in any case, impatience is becoming more and more pressing.
To the point that some try to tinker, year in and year out, the atmosphere of nightclubs for a few clandestine evenings in their apartment.
This is particularly the case of Marcus, a business school student who has obtained, with his group of friends, all the necessary equipment to replay his weekends from the world before.
“We have a smoke system, green lasers, flashes… In general, we invite around thirty people to have the impression of being there.
It's troubleshooting, but it helps to compensate, ”says the young man in a deep voice, looking nostalgic.
Lola, she prefers to dance alone, confined in her Parisian apartment.
Between her sofa and her television, this 24-year-old webmaster sometimes finds herself "extending the atmosphere" of the dance lessons she takes on Zoom.
"I put the music on, my little disco lamp, it's too good", confides the young woman with a delighted air.
Can we then expect a “big night” from the nightlife when it reopens?
Where the professionals want to be optimistic - "We are going to live the golden age of clubbing, it will be madness", predicts the communicator of the Rex - other specialists are more nuanced.
“The problem is that many young people have discovered rave parties outdoors, inexpensive and less supervised, worries Tony Lemale, president of the Noctambules Citoyens association.
Nightclubs will have to reinvent themselves if they want to continue to exist.
"
Two scenarios are possible according to Christophe Moreau, sociologist within the Jeudevi research team.
“Either discotheques will be in difficulty because of new consumption habits taken with confinement.
Or, conversely, more and more people will want to reconnect with others, by rushing to clubs, ”he imagines.
And the emotion may be, too, at the rendezvous.
“The day we will reopen, I will give everything for the customers, warns Guillaume Busson, 27-year-old DJ at Missyl de Pontivy.
If it's really the big party, I think I'll cry behind the decks.
"
