This Friday, March 3, several videos of fights in French multiplexes have gone viral.
Each time, the session concerns the screening of the American film
Creed III
by Michael B. Jordan.
In the one filmed at Pathé Quai d'Ivry (94) in eastern Paris, chaos is total.
In the middle of a row, a fight breaks out between a spectator and a guard recognizable by his orange armband.
As in a concert, the phones are brandished by the other spectators to film the scene in order to post it on social networks.
In a second video shot in an unidentified room, another incident spoiled the screening.
The light in the room is on.
We see a member of staff trying to resolve an altercation while a young woman gets annoyed:
“There are children down there!”
These images have led to a host of comments from Internet users who are offended by these incivilities.
“Better to avoid the Pathé d'Ivry after 8 p.m.,”
judges a regular.
Alongside the outrage, many of the comments are overtly racist.
Read alsoThe UGC des Halles is the most visited cinema in the world
“This kind of incivility has always existed, fortunately very rarely,
explains Marc Olivier Sebbag, general delegate of the National Federation of Cinemas (FNCF).
It is limited to one type of film, horror, action... We see the same excesses in countries other than France.
We must be wary of social networks which amplify very very specific incidents.
No increase in incivility is observed.
In recent months, three films have unleashed passions.
In March 2022, the Grand Rex, a legendary Parisian cinema on the Grands Boulevards, issued a press release after a screening of Sung-ho Park's
Jujutsu Kaisen 0
manga franchise was spoiled by an audience
"too restless."
In his message published on his Twitter account, the direction of the cinema explains that there is a difference between sharing his joy and doing anything.
“Unfortunately, over the years, some people in the Japanese anime movie audience don't understand this difference.
We will therefore be forced to react more firmly next time.”
In Marseille, last August, at the Pathé la Joliette near the port, it was the latest installment of Goro Taniguchi's One Piece Film-Red
manga saga
that aroused a little too much enthusiasm.
Some spectators started screaming, took off their T-shirts and finally rushed towards the giant screen.
Finally, on Halloween, the screening of the horror film
The Devil's Prey
by Daniel Stamm required the intervention of the police in Romans-sur-Isère (26).
About sixty young people heckled before fighting in the CinéPlanète room.
As the fire alarm was sounded, spectators in other halls had to be evacuated.
That is 280 people.
When the police arrived, the troublemakers had already left.
The management of the cinema filed a complaint for degradation and decided to no longer screen Halloween films.
The spectators of the other sessions have been reimbursed.
Contacted by Le
Figaro
, the management of the Pathé cinemas could not be reached on Friday March 3.
One thing is certain: at a time when the French are returning en masse to dark rooms, these incidents, however rare they may be, tarnish the image of multiplexes, especially those whose staff has been reduced.
For the spectator who has sometimes paid a high price to see his film, the disappointment is great.
At the Pathé Quai d'Ivry, the price of tickets goes up to 19.60 euros.
At La Joliette in Marseille, seeing
Creed III
in the lounge room costs 36.20 euros.