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CULTURE

French government defends allowing theme park’s 9,000-person show

The French government has defended a decision to allow a theme park to stage a show attended by up to 9,000 people, after critics blasted the move as wildly irresponsible and hypocritical due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Published: 17 August 2020 15:55 CEST
French government defends allowing theme park's 9,000-person show
The Puy du Fou historical theme park in western France. Illustration photo: AFP

The Puy du Fou historical theme park in western France was given an exemption by local authorities to allow the show with up to 9,000 spectators, even though the number of people permitted to gather in France is limited to 5,000 due to social distancing rules.

The controversy is even more acute given that the park's founder Philippe de Villiers, a former culture minister and ex-MP, is according to French media on friendly terms with President Emmanuel Macron.

Participants in France's cultural scene, ravaged by the coronavirus and ensuing restrictions, have expressed outrage that the weekend event was allowed to go ahead when major summer festivals were cancelled.

Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot, however, denied that the Puy du Fou, which attracts millions each year with its mediaeval and history-themed attractions, had received special treatment.

Local authorities have the power to grant exceptional permission for gatherings of more than 5,000 people.

“I understand the emotion and the anger of the professionals and the artists who had to cancel their activities and it is a real heartbreak,” said Bachelot, quoted by Le Parisien website late Sunday.

But, “the park of Puy du Fou did not benefit from any special privilege,” she insisted.

Prime Minister Jean Castex last week extended a ban on gatherings of more than 5,000 people until October 30th.

The measure has already cost France some of its top summer cultural festivals including Avignon theatre festival and the Vieilles Charrues music event.

On Friday, the local authorities in the Vendée region of western France issued a decree allowing the Puy du Fou to welcome up to 9,000 people for its Cinescenie theatrical show on Saturday.

The Cinescenie is the park's summer showpiece, a spectacular historical show with fireworks and hundreds of actors and horses.

“These are double standards! In these times of major crisis for events, concerts, sports and nightclubs it is even more unbearable to witness!!”, tweeted prominent French show business promoter Pascal Negre, a former president of Universal Music France and former vice-president of Universal Music International.

 

“It's incomprehensible”, Jean-Michel Ribes, director of the Parisian Rond Point theatre, told Europe 1 radio.

“I think that there will be a real question for the government and it will need to answer it and explain,” he added.

Bachelot said that in the coming days she would receive representatives of the cultural sectors most impacted by the virus and resultant lockdown.

“We have a feeling of being abandoned,” said Aurelie Hannedouche, of the SMA union of modern music.

“Irritated, alone, fed up, that's what we feel: we are the only sector that has not got back to business,” she added.

The Puy du Fou, France's second-most popular theme park after Disneyland, welcomed over 2.3 million visitors in 2019. It reopened its doors on June 11th following the coronavirus lockdown.

Member comments

  1. All to do with money and connections. It’s exactly the same with allowing the Tour to go ahead. Totally irresponsible. Surely to stop these “events” for just one year isn’t beyond reason?

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

Published: 24 June 2024 11:26 CEST
5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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