Big concerns about the resumption of the "live performance" after the announcements of Edouard Philippe

Incredulity, surprise or worry: these are the words that come up most often after Edouard Philippe's announcements in favor of the reopening, on June 2 in green zones and on June 22 in orange zones, theaters and concert halls.

Between fear of a loss of profitability and lack of time to establish a programming worthy of the name, The professionals are far from being convinced and some of them consider this decision far too early.

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Overall, the entertainment world points to the vagueness around the measures announced by the Prime Minister on Thursday May 28. What social distancing measures should be taken by the establishments?

Where to set the public reception capacity gauge? What space should be respected between spectators? Edouard Philippe remained vague on these subjects, only stressing that sanitary rules will have to be put in place when the rooms are reopened.

The vagueness around health measures

"These measures which consist in separating spectators of 1.2 or 4 meters are the antithesis of our trade".

"We have a lot of question marks , " said Figaro Malika Seguineau, director general of Prodiss, the lobby of producers and owners of performance halls. For her, social distancing is not viable in this sector. “These measures which consist in separating spectators of 1.2 or 4 meters are the antithesis of our profession. [...] The live performance, they are artists in front of an audience. "

Jules Frutos, producer of shows and co-manager of Alias, shares the same concerns. “Rooms filled to the third, it's a chasm. I'm not sure that the artists I represent will agree to play in front of a masked audience, in front of spectators located 1 meter from each other or staggered over 4 square meters when they are seated, " he said. he declared in an interview with Le Monde .

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However, health rules above all present a significant financial risk for establishments. Alexis Bernier, co-director of the Trabendo concert hall in Paris, is afraid of finding himself in "a catastrophic situation" , he expressed alarm to Franceinfo . Already severely weakened by the closure during confinement, the room may not survive with a reduced gauge. "We would work at a loss, it would condemn us to lose even more money," explains Alexis Bernier, who specifies that the Trabendo only earns money with an occupancy rate of 80%.

Chaotic programming

"Economically, we cannot operate with 30% of gauge," confirms Jules Frutos. "These are effects of political announcements impossible to implement in theaters . " If the public sector is likely to get out of the water thanks to subsidies, says the producer, the private sector risks meanwhile being plunged into a "chasm" . “Our economic model will not hold up. It is entirely based on ticket sales , ” adds Malika Seguineau.

Our economic model will not hold up

Another concern: the implementation of a programming over a short period of time, when a large part of the events were canceled until the end of 2020. At Alias, almost two thirds of the concerts were postponed between September and February 2021. On the Trabendo side, only fifteen dates are still scheduled until December.

To this problem is added that of finding artists on tour. "However, at the moment, no international group is touring and it will take time to put the shows back on their feet," deplores Alexis Bernier. "[International artists] cannot fly, our borders outside Schengen are closed," adds Malika Seguineau.

So many shadows and doubts that make the fate of the performing arts still very uncertain. "We would have liked the Prime Minister to announce a resumption, but not under any conditions," regrets the director general of Prodiss.