Better, but still not satisfactory.
Attendance at cinemas and live shows at the start of the year shows a drop of around 25% compared to the same period before the health crisis, said Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot on Sunday.
A figure to put on the account of government policy, she assured.
"Everyone recognizes that there is not a country that has done as much as France to save its culture
," said the minister on Sunday morning on Radio J.
Read alsoSacred short films
Mate
and
Le Roi David
at the Clermont-Ferrand festival
In total, nearly 14 billion euros have been mobilized for the world of culture in France since the start of the health crisis, according to new figures from the ministry.
The artists are
“tired, anxious but do not come out washed out”
from the health crisis, alleged this morning the Minister of Culture, who notably expects
“a great festival season”,
certain that she would continue
“to help everyone who needs it”
.
"I'm not all-out optimism
, however qualified Roselyne Bachelot at the microphone of Frédéric Haziza, during the morning political program
Les Enfants de la République
broadcast on Sunday on Radio J.
I know very well that in the cinema , it is another 25% drop in attendance, in live performance too”
at the start of the year, compared to the same period before the crisis linked to Covid-19.
This figure varies between 20 and 25% depending on the rooms, compared to the same time in 2019, the ministry said.
Read alsoIn Paris, a record number of shooting days in 2021
Persistent tensions and anxieties
The performing arts in particular are witnessing a
"phenomenon of bipolarization"
according to the minister:
"there are shows that work"
, with full halls, and others where the public is not there.
“There are scheduling issues because standing concerts are usually international tours.
Standing concerts will find it more difficult to return to normal than classical concerts”
, also underlined the Minister of Culture.
Read alsoElton John, suffering from Covid-19, cancels two concerts in the United States
According to Roselyne Bachelot, the world of culture is faced with both
“an extremely harsh pandemic and (…) the great digital wind, the appearance of the metaverse.
It's extremely violent, this double anguish.
Restrictions have started to be lifted, such as the maximum gauge for seated audiences set at 2,000 people which ended on February 2 and will be followed by the return of standing concerts on February 16.
Finally, the Minister of Culture also welcomed the recent return of the painting
Roses under the Trees
, by Gustav Klimt, to his heirs.
On January 25, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a law to return 15 works of art, including a painting by Klimt and one by Marc Chagall, to the heirs of Jewish families robbed by the Nazis.
Asked about Eric Zemmour's attempt
"to
rehabilitate Pétain ,
the so-called savior of French Jews"
, Roselyne Bachelot affirmed that the presidential candidate
"was no longer in the Republican principles"
.
