Towards the end of big events in most big cities because of coronavirus? Health Minister Olivier Véran has addressed the situation this Wednesday September 23, 2020 and announced that the gauge for these big gatherings was to be lowered to 1000 people starting September 26. A measure applying to departments on reinforced alert, including many big cities such as Paris, Lille, Montpellier, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, Rennes and even Saint-Etienne.
Who is concerned? Stadiums and other sporting arenas first of all, that can seat up to 5,000 people. Like our peers from La Dépêche say, some have already decided to host games without a public, long before the announcements from the Health Minister, as ordered by the Prefect, like the Toulouse Football Club said to welcome Auxerre this Saturday. Marseille – where gatherings are simply banned because the city is on maximum alert – will get a special derogation for the game opposing the OM to Metz on Saturday as well, as L'Équipe says. As for the French Open said to start on September 27, organizers will give details on the situation by Friday September 25.
The White Night – expected to take place on the first weekend of October – may be impacted, even jeopardized by the new measures. Even though no announcement has been made so far, a wave of cancelations may arrive in the upcoming days, excluding events taking place outside, on the condition they respect the measures and barrier gestures. Big events declared such as local celebrations and student parties are banned as well. As for cultural venues, such as museums, movie theaters, theaters and show venues, the Health Minister said these measures do not apply to them.
