Guy Forget, director of Roland-Garros, explained this Thursday afternoon that he had not heard from the authorities about a move to a maximum of 1,000 spectators for the tournament, or a possible exemption to 5,000 people. And this within three days of the first Porte d’Auteuil matches.
Roland-Garros starts in less than 72 hours now, but we do not know under what conditions. In the aftermath of the announcements made by the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, including the limitation of gatherings to 1,000 people in Paris, the organizers of the French Grand Slam do not know whether they will have to respect this new measure, or if they will be able to obtain an exemption to accommodate 5,000 Porte d’Auteuil spectators.
“Like you, last night we followed the minister’s intervention on television, explained the tournament director, Guy Forget, during a press briefing this Thursday afternoon. But for the moment we have not received any notification from the authorities, so at the moment we are still on this 5,000-seat gauge. Discussions will take place, I hope, in the coming hours to find out how this tournament will unfold. “
“We want to send a positive message”
The former French tennis player took the trouble to recall the efforts already made by the organization. “Initially we had received the approval of the authorities to play with 20,000 spectators, then we made the proposal to split the stadium into three distinct parts to accommodate 11,500 people. And ten days ago we were brought back to a 5,000-seat gauge. “
A gauge that he already considers very safe for the public. “It seems to me that we are capable of accommodating 5,000 people on such a large site while respecting barrier gestures, continues Forget. I remind you that we are outside, that the matches will be played on 14 courts … At each restriction we send a signal that it would be dangerous to come here when in our opinion it is not. Today we want to send a positive message, a message to tennis fans who want life to start again. But everything must be do with the government’s endorsement. “
