(Credit: picture-alliance / T. Muncke)

French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that theaters and opera houses will be allowed to reopen on May 19, but only if the health situation allows. The reopening could also be done on a regional basis.

In an interview for Le Parisien, Macron outlined the reopening plan, which will be implemented in phases. The second phase due to begin on May 19 will allow the reopening of non-essential shops which are currently closed, cinemas, theaters, and museums with audience restrictions. It will also allow the reopening of open-air sports facilities. Cafés, bars, and restaurants would be able to reopen their outdoor terrace spaces only. All the details of the plan are subject to change, and will go ahead only if the epidemiological situation allows.

“The daily life of the country cannot be reduced to the evolution of the infection curve. I am obliged to look at the consequence of the closure of a school, when a child will not have a meal a day; or the consequence when a business is asked to close for several weeks. I know their distress today. We must take all of this into account,” said the French President in an interview.

France entered the third nationwide lockdown on April 4, 2021. The country is still struggling with a high number of new daily COVID-19 cases, having logged 31,539 cases on April 28, 2021.