NIGHTCLUB. Faced with the wave of Covid and the Delta and Omicron variants, the government decreed the closure of night establishments for seven weeks. At least.
[Mis à jour le 19 janvier à 09h52] It’s been five weeks since French nightclubs have lowered the curtain. But how long will they remain closed? The vagueness remains for the managers of French night establishments. After initially announcing four weeks of closure from December 10, 2021, the government extended the measure for three additional weeks: from Monday January 3 and therefore, until January 24, 2022 (at least), nightclubs will remain closed. “For three weeks there will be the renewal of the closure which concerned them”, declared Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister Delegate in charge of Tourism and SMEs.
A new blow for nightclub managers, who had to lower the curtain on December 10. At the end of December, the National Syndicate of Discotheques and Places of Leisure, which denounces a “stigmatization” of the government following the announcement of the closure of nightclubs, was refused its request for cancellation of this measure by the Council of ‘State. “As we suspected, the Council of State rejected our request to cancel the closing of the nightclubs”, can we read in A press release.
Fore SNDL, this closure of night establishments is a “stigmatization”, a “discrimination”, a useless measure which is not justified by “no proven health element”. “It is these places in which no cluster has appeared for months, that the Government has decided to close”, can we read in this document, in which it is concluded: “the consequence is already known: resumption of the epidemic in January and maintaining our closure!”
In an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 in France, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced the closure of nightclubs for a period of four weeks, starting Friday December 10 and until Thursday January 6, 2022 inclusive, before to extend for another three weeks. An announcement strongly contested by professionals in the sector, made following a new Defense Council at the Elysee Palace on Monday, December 6th.
In a press release dated Tuesday, December 13, the National Union of Discotheques and Leisure Places (SNDLL) announced that it had seized the Council of State once morest a measure which it considered “arbitrary”. And if the managers of night establishments denounce a difference in treatment with other sectors, the government added that “dancing activities” will also be prohibited “until January 6 inclusive”, which means that it will be prohibited to dance in bars and restaurants, which remain open for the time being.
“The virus circulates a lot among young people and wearing a mask is difficult in these places. We also do it out of consistency with the general message of caution”, argued Jean Castex, announcing that the government was going to support “economically the companies concerned. (…) as much as necessary.” Partial unemployment will be reinstated in the events and nightlife sector, announces Elisabeth Borne on LCI. “I really want to reassure them: we are going to put in place partial activity, 100% support, therefore without remaining to be borne by the employer, to continue to protect jobs”, assured the minister.
The nightclubs, closed for sixteen months, only reopened on July 9, with a strict protocol. Protocol to which the mask was added once more following a speech by the Minister of Health on November 25, 2021. Nightclubs were among the places where the rate of Covid-19 contamination is the highest.
As revealed by the new part of the ComCor study by the Institut Pasteur relayed by The Parisian, private parties, bars and nightclubs stand out as being the most at risk: among those under 40, the risk of contamination increases by 340% (150% among those over 40) compared to a person who does not have not frequented discotheque. For comparison, a car trip with other people increases the risk by 30%. It is with this study that the government justifies the closing of discotheques.
Ln Thursday November 25, two weeks before the closing of the nightclubs, Olivier Véran announced the return of the compulsory mask in all covered places. Including if their access is already subject to the presentation of the health pass. The law no longer imposed the wearing of a mask in indoor places where the health pass had been requested since the end of July (each operator remained free to do so). The mask therefore made its return to nightclubs from Friday, November 26. A short-lived respite since the nightclubs closed their doors a few days later…
Nightclubs and discos closed in March 2020, in line with government measures taken to stem the coronavirus pandemic in France. If the restaurants, cinemas, museums and theaters had reopened first, just like the libertine clubs or the dance cafés, the managers of the night establishments had waited longer for the green light from the government.
After months of vagueness, the date of July 9 was finally that of the opening, following having been confirmed by the government, Alain Griset, former Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. According to calculations by the SNDLL (National Union of Nightclubs and Leisure Places), of the 1,648 nightclubs in France before the pandemic, 25% were in difficulty when they reopened, and 131 were in liquidation. Only 1,500 nightclubs might have reopened. Their closure is a new blow for the profession.