Toulouse: The rant of a nightclub owner “
Manager of the Senso nightclub, Joël Dutot once again deplores the stigmatization of nightclubs.
This Monday evening, with the obligation to consume seated, it was the bars that bore the brunt of the new restrictive measures announced by the Prime Minister, Jean Castex.
But Joël Dutot, nightclub owner, has still not digested the closure of nightclubs a few days before the New Year. Patron for ten years of Senso, rue Bayard, a well-functioning nightclub, he remembers the months of closure and the consequences for its activity: “Once again, many of us are wondering about this decision. What got us the most angry is that there are double standards: we all know that young people party in certain places without any precautions. Very wet and very dancing evenings, sometimes with a DJ, are also organized in the private area. I have received several videos in this direction ”.
“We wonder, continues Joël. These places, closed for fifteen months between 2020 and 2021, have struggled to recover their customers. Young people had adopted, and this is normal, other habits to have fun. And while the situation was improving and we were getting ready to welcome the public for New Year’s Eve, one of the biggest evenings for our sector, the government decided to close it for a period of four weeks, at less “.
And yet, this boss repeats it, the discotheques have shown great sanitary prudence, since the reopening, “we were the first to require the sanitary pass with an identity document, notes Joël. For several months, we also set up a screening tent at the entrances to our establishments. Without forgetting of course the obligatory mask for the personnel and the hydroalcoholic gel inside. Of course, I admit, it is complicated to respect the barrier measures on a dance floor, but vigilance can avoid many problems ”. He adds: “Moreover, unlike other places, no cluster has been detected. The unions had also reported it to the Council of State at the time ”.
“We fear the announcement of the measures”
“On fear of the announcement of the measures, assures Joël. Like the obligation to present the vaccine pass and a PCR test. An additional constraint for the bosses and above all a headlong flight from the customers ”. An opinion supported by Francis Aribaud, representative of the National Union of Discotheques and Leisure Sites (SNDLL): “at Planet Rock, the air is renewed every eight minutes. Few places applied this protocol ”. According to him, the government has an a priori on these places of leisure “the policies ignore everything of this universe”.