Terraces, trade fairs and conferences, health passes: an update on the new phase of decontamination

"  Here we are! "With a tweet, Emmanuel Macron kicked off the second stage of the deconfinement process, symbolised by the reopening of the terracesThe social network is full of examples of celebrities who sat down to their first espresso on a terrace despite the gloomy weather in Paris. The social network is teeming with examples of celebrities who, despite the gloomy weather in Paris, sat down on the morning of 19 May to enjoy their first espresso on a terrace, like the Minister for Tourism Jean-Baptise Lemoyne or Roland Heguy, President of the UMIH (Union des métiers et des industries de l'hôtellerie), who is hoping for a "more relaxed atmosphere". happy reopening to all! This is the first step. The professionals and the French are smiling again. "

After seven months of closures of restaurant terraces, museums, cinemas and theatres, this breath of fresh air is primarily a convivial and cultural event. But it's not all, for business travellers, this new stage also opens up a wider range of options for eating out during their journeysThis includes business lunches and dinners in hotels, which are authorised to welcome guests in their restaurants.

In this context, the Louvre Hotels group has reopened the 300 restaurants and terraces of its Campanile hotels after almost a year of closure and takeaway sales, with a new menu for the spring-summer season including fine tarts with grilled vegetables and marinated chicken kebabs.

Owner of the upmarket Hermitage Gantois and Couvent des Minimes hotels in Lille, the Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde in Rouen and the Holiday Inn du Touqet, the SLIH hotel group is also "delighted to announce the reopening of our restaurant for our guests.  "Taking advantage of this new opportunity to attract travellers, but also local customers wanting to make the most of their evening, the Evok group is offering night + breakfast packages with a €100 restaurant credit plus an evening DJ from Thursday to Saturday.

With the curfew extended to 9pm, The Peninsula Paris has reopened La Terrasse Kléber from 12pm to 9pm for lunches, afterworks and dinners, while its Rooftop welcomes customers with lunch reservations from 3pm and 9pm, a menu of sweet and savoury dishes, accompanied by alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. Similarly, the Hôtel Barrière Le Fouquet's Paris is once again welcoming guests to the terraces of its famous brasserie, whose menu is designed by Pierre Gagnaire, and the hotel restaurant Le Joy. As for its rooftop Marta, it will reopen its doors on 1 June with a brand new decor and a fine selection of cocktails.

Taking advantage of this upturn, the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo greeted it with the opening of a new restaurant supervised by multi-starred chef Yannick Alléno and set up on the terrace of the Monegasque palace. The terrace, which previously housed the Vistamar restaurant, has been given a facelift to accommodate this new casual dining experience, for " tie-free cooking which "is designed to be simple" .

But it's not just the hotel and restaurant owners who are delighted that the terraces will be reopening on 19 May. It also means that congresses, trade fairs and exhibitions can be organised. For example, GL Events has confirmed that it will be holding several trade shows in JuneThese include the CFIA in Rennes, Sepem in Colmar, Urbest in Metz, Preventica in Lyon and Fashion Rendez-vous Première Vision in Paris. Other parallel events include the Fédération Française du Bâtiment conference in Lyon on 10 and 11 June, and the Preuves & Pratiques conferences in Beaune on 12 June, Reims and Besançon on 19 June, Caen and Brest on 26 June, and Paris on 3 July.

The LEVENEMENT association welcomed this date: " Today marks the 1st step towards happy days and the resumption of face-to-face events! " " It's time to get back to work! "Unimev (Union Française des Métiers de l'Événement) also tweeted its satisfaction and presented the government's official protocol governing this gradual reopening. In the first phase, until 8 June, the venues dedicated to business meetings will once again be able to host conferences and business seminars, but in seated configuration only and with a capacity of 35% for a maximum of 800 visitors visitors at the same time. This calculation only takes visitors into account and excludes employees, service providers, organisers and other participants.

As announced, from 9 June and before returning to normal on 30 June, this gauge will be increased to 65 % for conferences and seminars, still in seated configuration and with a maximum capacity of 5,000 people. As for trade fairs and exhibitions, they will be able to resume with a capacity set at 50 % of the ERP workforce normally accommodated and a maximum of 5,000 visitors simultaneously per exhibition hall.

For all events with more than 1,000 visitors per exhibition hall or conference area, use of the health pass will be compulsory. As part of this, on the night of 18 to 19 May, the Senate adopted the bill for a gradual end to the state of emergency, which defines the scope of this health pass. According to France Info, " the senators specified that it could only be implemented in places where it is not possible to ensure compliance with barrier gestures. It could be presented in paper or digital form and the medical information to which the people authorised to check it would have access would be restricted.. " In addition, " the Senate opposed the inclusion in the law of a minimum size for requiring a health pass, as called for by the left. "The government has also promised that this solution will only apply to events involving more than 1,000 people.