Randomly of the calendar, certain teams chose Saturday July 11 to organize a meeting, precisely the day chosen by the authorities for the reopening of the stadiums to the public, within the limit of a maximum gauge of 5,000 people, valid for any gathering on French soil.
The first to reopen their doors are Chambly and Caen, two Ligue 2 teams who will reconnect with their supporters in small groups this afternoon, respectively against Boulogne-sur-Mer (N1, 3rd div., 5:00 p.m.) and Paris FC (L2, 6 p.m.). A few hundred people at most are expected.
The real large-scale test will take place tomorrow in Le Havre, a resident of L2 who will receive the stars of Paris SG at the Océane stadium at 19:00. For the first time in four months among the five “Big 5” countries (Spain, England, Germany, Italy, France), a meeting with an elite club will be contested in front of several thousand spectators.
Once the teams, officials, journalists and security had counted, between 4,000 and 4,500 tickets were made available to spectators and were snatched up in a few minutes, according to the Le Havre club.
European paradox
The paradox is total, because if France distinguished itself from its neighbors by stopping its season early when the others resumed, England, Spain, Italy and Germany have not yet ended the in camera measures. For this public return, in accordance with health recommendations, each club has defined a strict protocol.
In Le Havre, the wearing of a mask will be compulsory, at the entrance as if to move in the spans, hydroalcoholic gel will be made available, social distancing must be respected – with the exception of organized groups – just like the meaning of traffic imagined for the occasion. An evening in the form of a health “crash test” for the next few weeks and in particular for the Cup finals, scheduled for July 24 and 31 at the Stade de France, which seem condemned to have to bow to this gauge of 5,000 people as well. Before a wider return of the public at the end of the summer?
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