Prime Minister Jean Castex has confirmed that Roland-Garros (September 27 – October 11) will have to take place with a maximum of 1,000 spectators per day, in accordance with the new rules in force for gatherings in Paris. Accredited persons will not be counted in the gauge.
Roland-Garros must be limited to a maximum of 1,000 spectators per day (excluding accredited persons). Prime Minister Jean Castex confirmed Thursday evening that the Parisian tennis tournament (whose main draw is scheduled for September 27 to October 11) would have to comply with the government measures announced the day before, involving in particular the lowering of the number gauge. of people authorized in gatherings in Paris and seven other metropolises where the situation linked to the Covid-19 epidemic has deteriorated.
“We will apply the same rules at Roland Garros as elsewhere. (…) We go from 5,000 to 1,000. There is no reason why we should not apply the same rules to everyone”, declared the head of government on France 2. It is a setback for the director of the tournament Guy Forget, who still hoped a few hours earlier to maintain his tonnage at 5,000 people. He had already had to give up last week to welcome 11,000 people daily on several courts.
The tournament #Roland Garros will it take place this year? @JeanCastex confirms limitation of public gatherings to 1,000 people, but defers to tournament organizers to decide whether to continue the competition #VALP pic.twitter.com/N3hTvym8kf
– You have the floor (@VALP) September 24, 2020
Accredited people don’t count
For Jean Castex, the argument of the extent of the site and its open-air configuration does not change “anything” and therefore cannot be used as a reason for exemption. “There are population groups,” he said.
On the set of the public television channel, Jean Castex was at first somewhat evasive when asked if the accredited people (players, coaches, organization, journalists) should be counted in the limit of 1,000 people. “It is up to them to determine how they are doing,” he replied, even declaring that it was necessary to “ask the organizers” if they were indeed able to ensure this fortnight of tennis in these conditions.
The services of Matignon, however, clarified in the wake of AFP that the gauge does not concern these accredited people, subject to a strict health protocol.
