France, like most of Europe, saw a spike in coronavirus cases during the winter, as new variants spread across the continent. Now the number of cases appears to be stabilizing, partly thanks to a 6 p.m. curfew, but it remains high. On Thursday there were about 21,063 new cases and 360 deaths. Friday morning, France had recorded nearly 81,000 deaths from the virus.
But variations in the number of cases have not stopped growing opposition to restrictions on cultural life.
French bookstores led the charge, with a handful refusing to close when the lockdown was ordered in October. Florence Kammermann, the owner of the Autour d’un Livre store in Cannes, which remained open for several weeks despite the warrant, said in a telephone interview that police visited her case four times and fined it. But she did not regret her decision, she said.
She was completely opposed to the National Rally Party and its policies, she added, but she supported Aliot in reopening museums. Many in France complained that the country’s lockdown rules were illogical, she added, “but they don’t have the guts to do this.”
French theaters have also protested their forced closure. In December, several venues symbolically reopened their doors to allow actors and fans to enter their entrance halls, but closed again after the action.
Jean-François Chougnet, the president of the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean, in Marseille, said in a telephone interview that the French museum directors would be happy to accept any conditions if they allowed them to reopen their doors. “Tell us,” said Chougnet. “We are open to everything.”
On Monday, Roselyne Bachelot, France’s Minister of Culture, held a Zoom call with the leaders of several museums, including the Louvre, to discuss how to safely reopen. She told attendees that museums would be the first cultural venues to reopen once the virus was under control, said Emma Lavigne, Palais de Tokyo’s president, on the phone.