With the upcoming Cannes Film Festival postponed due to the pandemic the world is presently facing, the venue has opened doors to the homeless during these tough times. Instead of prepping to welcome the biggest names in cinema on the red carpet, the Palais des Festivals installed beds for people who have nowhere to go to during the coronavirus lockdown.
“We have between 50 and 70 people here every night,” said Dominique Aude-Lasset, an official at Cannes Town Hall.
At the entrance, a worker in a face mask takes the temperature of each homeless person every time they enter the venue. Inside, there is an eating area, shower block and communal space with television and games. In a cavernous, low-ceiling room, camp-beds are set up in three long lines.
It is mandatory to do the necessary check given that COVID-19 could have an outsized impact on the homeless who don’t always have access to proper sanitation and may also carry an illness.
Over a week back, President Emmanuel Macron told France’s 67 million population to stay indoors to save themselves from the pandemic and reduce its transmission. This indeed was a big problem for the country’s estimated 12,000 people who live on the streets.
Coming back to the annual film festival, it was due to take place from May 12 till 23, 2020, at the French Riviera resort but the dates have been pushed until late June.