France’s Nightly Curfew Won’t Apply to Film, TV Shoots

Filming on French soil will be spared from the nightly curfew that was announced by French president Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday and will go into effect on Saturday for at least six weeks.

The 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew will be imposed in Paris and eight other cities where the number of coronavirus cases has spiked.

Michel Gomez, the head of the Mission Cinema, a body in charge of coordinating film and TV shoots in Paris, told Variety that the French government has agreed to allow indoor and outdoor filming to take place at night, after 9 p.m. “The government considers filming to be a professional activity, and as a result, cast and crew members will be able to go home from work with a waiver,” said Gomez. The executive said the number of shoots has been skyrocketing in Paris in recent weeks.

“Production activity restarted in early June and has intensified week after week,” said Gomez, who explained that film and TV producers are venturing into shoots in spite of the rise of coronavirus cases because they have established “a very strict sanitary protocol for filming in collaboration with guilds and authorities.”

Another crucial factor behind the upward trend is the fact that producers in France can have access to an indemnity fund of €100 million ($117 million), half of which comes from the French government, and the other half from a pool of insurers. In case a shoot has to be canceled or postponed due to a coronavirus infection, producers are insured up to €1.8 million ($2.11 million) per film and 30% of their production budget.

Under the curfew rules, people without a waiver will not be allowed to be anywhere outdoors from 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. and all shops, restaurants and bars will be shut down during those hours. Those who violate the rule will be fined €135 ($158) – the amount of the fine is the same for those who are not wearing a face mask.

Meanwhile, film guilds, including those repping distributors and theater exhibitors, as well as people working in the cultural sector, have asked the government for a special permit allowing customers to attend evening screenings and events that end after 9 p.m. An answer is expected tomorrow, before the start of the curfew. If no amendment is made, the rule could be a fatal blow for exhibitors and other players in the culture sector as most evening shows start at 8 p.m.

Theater exhibitors have been able to keep admissions at an acceptable level in the absence of U.S. blockbusters thanks to a fairly strong offer of French films, but local distributors are now considering postponing their film releases if evening screenings have to be axed in major cities.

Anticipated French releases include “Aline,” Valerie Lemercier’s movie inspired by the life of Celine Dion which Gaumont planned to release on Sunday after James Bond film “No Time to Die” got moved to next spring; as well as SND’s “Kaamelott – Premier volet,” which was previously due to come out on July 29.