The minister pointed out that the seventh wave subvariants are “highly contagious but less violent in terms of symptoms.”
Rima Abdul Malak remains optimistic. Visiting Hellfest, a metal festival in Clisson in Loire-Atlantique, the new Minister of Culture said she was confident on Saturday for the holding of festivals this summer, without “reducing the gauges” or other “constraints”, despite the resumption of Covid-19.
“He makes you be very vigilant”
After more than two years punctuated by the pandemic, France plunged again at the start of summer, like other European countries, into a new wave carried by new sub-variants of the Omicron family.
“There is a recovery of the Covid at the moment, you have to be very vigilant, wash your hands, resume barrier gestures (…) test yourself every time you have a doubt”, first indicated the minister.
“However, we are vaccinated in France, normally we have no risk of putting constraints back on or reducing the gauges. The festivals this summer will, if all goes well, take place in good conditions”, said she added.
The Minister pointed out that the seventh wave subvariants are “highly contagious but less violent in terms of symptoms”. And to remember, “when you are a fragile person, you have to keep the mask on and be careful as much as possible”.
The worrying phenomenon of bites
Another shadow hangs over the summer festivities: complaints of stings in nightclubs, bars and festivals are piling up across the whole of France. But the evidence is still lacking to determine the reality of these malicious acts.
“This phenomenon has me very concerned,” said the minister. “In reality, it’s really a mystery, there is a phenomenon of psychosis more than a real phenomenon,” she said. “There are a few bites (not at Hellfest, no cases recorded, editor’s note), it exists, but much less than the psychosis that came out of it”.
“There is no substance to these bites when they are found, no aggression in the aftermath,” she insisted. “It would seem, once again, it’s conditional because it’s very mysterious, that it started from a challenge on social networks. Let’s not give in to psychosis”.
Rima Abdul Malak came to Hellfest because “it’s the biggest festival in France”. After two editions canceled due to health crisis, the Hellfest offers this summer a double program, over seven days in total, attracting 420,000 spectators.
“On a more personal note, the first concert of my life at 14 was the Guns N’Roses,” said the minister. This group is scheduled this Saturday at Hellfest and the minister has planned to see it again “29 years later”.