Published on : 01/26/2020 – 04:20Modified : 01/26/2020 – 04:19
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Paris (AFP)
The Paris Opera found its audience on Saturday evening to the sound of Hoffmann’s Tales in Bastille after a historic strike against the pension reform but the intersyndicale warns that it remains mobilized “for the withdrawal of the bill”.
The institution had been stopped for a month and a half, determined to defend the special regime from which it benefited, doomed to disappear as part of the reform of the pension system promoted by the government, which sparked strikes and demonstrations in the countries since December 5.
A text from the inter-union was read before the start of the performance: “To preserve the economic integrity of the Opera, we have made the decision to ensure this performance this evening, but we remain mobilized for the withdrawal of this bill, “can we hear in a video shared on Twitter by a spectator in the room.
In a month and a half of strike action, more than 70 shows have been canceled. The ticketing losses, which now reach nearly 15 million euros, are greater than the State’s annual contribution to the Opera pension fund.
The speech from the intersyndicale, interspersed with hoots and applause, does not specify whether the resumption of the representations is final.
– “Unique cultural heritage” –
“We have tried in many ways to express our deep attachment to the excellence of our house and to the transmission of a unique cultural heritage,” said the representative of the inter-union.
A few hours before Christmas, the mobilization of strikers from the Paris Opera had gone around the world when around forty dancers from the opera corps de ballet had given an improvised mini-show in front of posters “Paris Opera in strike “and” Culture is in danger “, to the applause of onlookers.
A week later, the musicians of the Paris Opera orchestra organized a mini concert on the steps of the Bastille opera, performing some well-known pieces from the classical repertoire, such as the Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz or the Dance knights, extract from Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev, before ending with an interpretation of the Marseillaise.
And in mid-January, the orchestra and the opera choir offered, among other things, an extract from Carmen de Bizet and “La Marseillaise”, with loud applause or “long live the strike!” launched by spectators.
The Opera like the Comédie-Française are the only cultural institutions affected by the government reform. The special regime of the Opera is one of the oldest in France, since it dates from 1698, under Louis XIV.
This regime makes it possible to bow out at 42, taking into account the “arduousness” of the profession, the risks of injury, and the fact that the majority of dancers can hardly continue to dance large ballets beyond this age with the same level of excellence.
Musicians, machinists and singers also discuss the arduousness of their work.
© 2020 AFP
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