Christophe Tardieu: "Our thirst for going back to the cinema will not be quenched!"

Christophe Tardieu is former director general of the CNC (National Center of Cinema and Animated Image). He has just published When France is at the foot of the wall, from Clovis to the taxis of the Marne (Ed. Du Cerf, 2019).

FIGAROVOX.- The cinemas will reopen this Monday, June 22. Concert halls and concert halls will soon follow. However, there will be a Covid before and after for the world of culture. What could be the short and long term consequences?

Christophe TARDIEU.- The situation is different with regard to cinemas and theaters. For cinemas, the problem at first is not going to be social distancing because theaters are very rarely full except for a few rare blockbusters. The difficulty will be more in "supplying" films. Certainly, we will be able to review the films that stopped in March. For the rest, very few distributors - and we can understand them - took the risk of a release from June 22. An exit is expensive in promotion, the rules in cinemas are not precise and changing and no one knows if measures of reconfinement will not be decided at some point. Almost all the distributors of the big American blockbusters have postponed their releases to 2021! In the medium term, we can witness congestion phenomena at certain times of the year and much slower periods in films because the confinement stopped all filming and they slow to resume taking into account the sanitary measures to be taken. and insurance companies that refuse to cover Covid risk.

For theaters, the restart will necessarily be much longer. Indeed, you have to recruit artists, have sets and costumes and rehearsals. Finally, we must market these shows. Again the rules of social distancing are not clear. How to sell seats in an auditorium when the rules are vague and constantly changing? I note that it does not shock anyone that the SNCF or the airlines sell all their available seats but it seems impossible for a performance hall? We get lost a little, especially when we see the breathtaking images of the music festival in Paris ...

Are you afraid that after confinement, the French prefer to enjoy the sunny days rather than shut themselves up in a movie theater?

This is probably the only point on which I am not worried. The French are the most cinephile people in Europe with more than 200 million cinema tickets sold per year. The thirst to go back to the cinema exists and will not be quenched! In addition, I remind you that with the high temperatures that are expected, cinemas in France are remarkably well equipped and are all air conditioned!

Is there a risk that the platforms, which triumphed during confinement, will replace cinemas and performance halls, and even museums. Are we entering the era of the virtual whole?

Let us not be mistaken. The virtual is and will remain a last resort. During the confinement, all the cultural structures made quite remarkable efforts to maintain the link with their visitors, their spectators, their regulars. However, nothing will ever replace eye contact with a work, communing together at a show and not in front of a computer screen. In cultural matters, the virtual will always be incidental and contingent.

"This virus is the very negation of the spiritual vocation of the cultural world" , write yourself. What do you mean?

In my opinion, Culture is first of all an emotion in the face of a work, a book, a film, a series, a music. An emotion is rarely solitary. Its vocation is to share, to pass on. This virus has forbidden us to see others and to communicate together around a work of the mind unless we go through ersatz like a screen. In doing so, I note the exceptional success of the big popular films on the small screen during containment. I am sure they have been seen by whole families!

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Would France without its artists still be France?

Of course not! Our country is admired worldwide for its culture, museums, theaters, heritage and artists, many of whom are known around the world. Are there many areas, apart from perhaps gastronomy and fashion, in which our country is an undisputed and envied world leader?

Should the state intervene? Can he still afford it?

No matter! Culture is an exceptional sector in which our country is one step ahead of all the others. It would be absurd for the state to let it collapse. Furthermore, I have long been a supporter of the need to reverse paradigms. Culture is not for me an expense but an investment, particularly profitable in addition. Of course, subsidies from the State but also from local authorities, which are much larger in amount, are essential. But in return, these are more than 600,000 direct jobs, 2.3% of our GDP and an economic weight greater than that of the pharmaceutical industry and the automotive industry. And if our country is the first in the world for welcoming tourists, I think it is more for our culture and our heritage rather than our ability to speak foreign languages!

Can we imagine new taxes on platforms and the internet in particular?

Obviously! We must make those who take advantage of the European tax sieve pay! If the headquarters of Apple Europe is in Luxembourg it is not for the nightlife of the Luxembourg capital, if Netflix is ​​in the Netherlands and Google in Ireland, it is not out of passion for Gouda or Irish Coffee . These are for reasons of fiscal dumping practiced by these countries in full view of everyone! It is therefore quite normal to restore a balance by national taxes based on the turnover achieved in each European country. It is a question of justice and fairness. And if this money comes to finance creation in France, these platforms will benefit indirectly.

But the tax will not do everything. It is also necessary to set investment obligations for these platforms in French films and audiovisual programs. It will be necessary to be very vigilant on the transcription of the SMA directive because the devil will nestle in the details and I am very worried about the exceptional power of lobbying of these platforms. Finally, it may be time to put an end to the system of irresponsibility for social networks and certain platforms which consider that they cannot be held responsible for the content they post. It is total hypocrisy. They are not responsible for their content but they are the first to make money from it!

Do you believe in the development of a French giant like Netflix? Can we really compete with the American giants and why does it have to go through the state?

I think it would be entirely possible, if a dozen people in France agreed, to create a large platform bringing together all French cinema and independent world cinema which is today very largely funded by the France. Platforms like Netflix have taught us the need to think in terms of global critical size. It is up to us to be inspired by playing on the quality of the content which is always preferable to the overwhelming quantity. As for the State, it must especially not deal with it - it does not know how to do it - but on the contrary it must support private initiatives in the matter, without technocracy, without excessive bureaucracy and quickly. A real challenge ...