France, which has been on lockdown since Oct. 30 to curb the second wave of the pandemic, will see its cinemas, theaters and museum reopen on Dec. 15. French president Emmanuel Macron unveiled some gradual measures to ease the lockdown on Tuesday during a televised address.
“The peak of the second wave of the pandemic has passed. Our efforts, your efforts have paid off,” said Macron. So far, 50,000 people have died from COVID-19 in France.
Starting on Nov. 28, small shops and religious sites will be allowed to reopen. On Dec. 15, theaters, cinemas and museums will reopen but a 9 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew will be restored. A 9 p.m. curfew was previously put in place in mid-October, before the country went into lockdown.
The lockdown is expected to be loosened even more around Jan. 20. “If the number of cases remains below 5,000 cases per day, gyms and restaurants will be allowed to reopen and the curfew will be pushed,” said Macron. Universities, meanwhile, will stay closed until at least Feb. 4. Until then, all classes will be held virtually.
A number of big French movie releases were expected to bow in theaters during the last quarter of 2020 and have now been pushed to 2021. One of the anticipated releases is Valerie Lemercier’s “Aline,” which is inspired by the life of Celine Dion. Gaumont has pushed the release to March.
Article by: Elsa Keslassy for Variety.
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