Paris and areas of northern France are entering another month-long lockdown, ordered by the French government. It follows a patchy vaccine rollout and fears of a third wave of COVID-19 infections.
That means the capital’s commercial galleries, which ArtReview had a brief opportunity to visit, are also headed into lockdown, with non-essential businesses closing from midnight (public galleries and museums have been closed since last October).
‘The epidemic is getting worse. Our responsibility now is to not let it escape our control,,’ prime minister Jean Castex told a news conference yesterday. France reported 35,000 new cases on Thursday.
In recent weeks, French art workers have staged protests against the COVID-19 shutdowns. Last week, protesters occupied theatres across the country, including the Colline in Paris and the National Theatre of Strasbourg.