“It’s a hard blow”Patrice Douret, the volunteer president of Restos du coeur, declared on franceinfo Thursday, January 6, while the association announced that its annual show of “Enfoirés”, scheduled in Montpellier from January 20 to 24, will be held behind closed doors in due to the health situation. Six concerts of 8,000 people were planned, “we took this decision responsibly”. This decision represents a significant financial loss for the association. “The ticket office is 4 million euros”, explains the president, who calls for the support of the State to support his action “essential”. The concert will be held all the same and will be recorded then broadcast on radio, television, then on CD and DVD as every year, “it will be a way of being able to compensate for this loss”.
franceinfo: Is this cancellation a big blow?
Yes it is a hard blow, a decision that we have taken responsibility for, for two reasons. The first is the uncertainty in the face of the health situation in the coming weeks, we had to guarantee the safety of our public. The second is that we could not wait, because the “Enfoirés” are six concerts of 8,300 places planned this year, logistics and very heavy machinery. And then this cancellation is also and above all to take into account the organizational constraints of our audience. It is a family audience, which travels, therefore with transport costs, hotel, sometimes leave to be taken. To respect this audience, we couldn’t wait any longer.
Does this represent a significant hole in the cash register?
Indeed, the spectacle of the “Enfoirés” over a normal year, it is about 10% of the budget of the Restaurants, it is essential for our social missions. The loss of the ticket office this year is four million euros. We are used to saying that one euro = one meal, that’s four million meals that cannot be distributed. We appealed to the State, because the “Enfoirés” is a unique cultural event in the world, but above all a solidarity operation and fundraising for the most vulnerable. It is essential today at the level of social action.
“Last year, Restaurants, 1.2 million people came through the door for food aid or support.”
Patrice Douret, volunteer president of Restos du Coeurto franceinfo
Especially since the Restaurants are already in difficulty at the moment. The winter campaign is rather bad because of the pandemic?
Yes, we have noticed, as in the previous campaign, a worsening of the precarious situation of all the people we already know. Worsening in particular in terms of physical and digital isolation, but also in terms of mental health, physical health. We are also seeing the emergence of new audiences, precarious workers who are now joining the Restaurants. All this means an adaptation of our functioning. It also means going further and faster, developing itinerant centers to meet the people who need us.
Have you already had the first returns from the State?
No. We are obviously waiting for a response today, in particular from the Ministry of Culture, which will be important. And we invite the public to meet again, especially in March, when this show is broadcast on TF1 and France Bleu. What is also important for us is to produce this show, to record it so that we can then market and sell this CD-DVD. Remember that the sale of a CD or DVD represents 17 meals. It will also be a way for us to be able to compensate for this loss.