Euro 2021: terraces, fan-zones, matches between friends ... the party yes, but under conditions

Only a few hours before kick-off.

Like the 24 teams of the Euro, football fans are also waiting for the start of the competition delayed by a year.

Whether you are retired in Paris like Marie or a student in Rouen like Thibault, impatience is enormous.

In a still precarious health context despite the recent improvement and a curfew extended to 11 p.m., everyone will have their own method to follow the Blues, as a priority.

“It will be quiet at home as with all football matches… European Champions!

»Even shouts Marie la Parisienne, as if she were at the stadium.

The enthusiasm is therefore present, as is often the case during major competitions.

Some aficionados are always ready.

“I'm going to watch all the Blues matches, as well as the vast majority of matches,” explains Thomas, from Vincennes.

But, above all, he will be one of the lucky ones who will see a match in vivo.

“I have tickets for Hungary-France on June 19.

So the wait, and especially the postponement of the event, only increased this expectation.

"

Read alsoEuro 2021: isolation, exclusion, truncated preparation ... why the Covid-19 will be a player in the competition

For the rest of the competition, he also plans, like many French people, to take advantage of the bars and terraces.

“I am vaccinated, with both doses, and outdoors I am not too afraid of the Covid.

Afterwards, we know the reactions during a match, social distance may be difficult to maintain, ”smiles another football fan.

The terraces are preparing to welcome football fans for the Euro.

LP / Ronan Torière

No fan-zones before the quarters in Paris

Hopes of seeing football in bars may be compromised, however. Across the country, local authorities must make decisions on the conditions for broadcasting matches in public space. Catering professionals are still in the dark. Several Parisian establishments confirmed to us this Thursday their uncertainty about the possibility of distribution. “We are waiting for orders from mayors or prefects. Our members find it difficult to understand. They would like to take advantage of the event when they have just reopened, ”explains Laurent Lutse, president of the cafes and breweries branch of Umih (Union of hotel trades and industries).

About ten thousand establishments across France would be affected by this impossibility of dissemination.

“It's very complex.

The authorities do not want a gathering on the public highway, in the health context.

Those who have terraces which are not on the public highway will be able to diffuse, however, notes the representative of the cafeterias.

Diffusion inside bars will be possible a priori, but again framed by health rules (

Editor's note: 50% gauge and all seated people

).

A real headache in perspective in the event of a goal from Kylian Mbappé and others.

Read also Fan-zones, terraces ... how will we follow the Euro in France?

Good news all the same, fan-zones will be accessible everywhere in France but in a limited format.

"At first, the fan-zones will not have exactly the same face as usual: we will be seated and at 65% of the capacity," said the President of the Republic yesterday, in an interview with RMC- BFMTV.

But in Paris, for example, it is still a blur.

"We are discussing with the Paris prefecture and we are studying several scenarios, we are working in particular on the closed stadium option (

Editor's note: which will no longer be subject to restrictions from June 30

), explains Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor in charge of sports.

Considering the costs and the sanitary restrictions, it is not reasonable to consider setting up fan zones before June 30, which sends us back to the quarter-finals.

"

Some have therefore found a solution to cope with the lack. “We are planning a fan-zone with friends at our friends' houses whose houses are equipped with a swimming pool. The principle is simple, a midday-midnight with a beautiful piece of beef for lunch, accompanied by a good wine. A jump in the swimming pool, then all in front of the match, we will obviously sing

the Marseillaise

all in chorus ”, confides Guillaume, who lives in the suburbs of Lille. Friendly. For the others, it will be necessary to wait until June 30 and the possible lifting of health restrictions to drink the chalice until jubilation ...