Actors have started kissing again on French film shoots, the country’s culture minister said Friday.
Franck Riester said ‘kissing has started again on sets’ where the ‘actors have been tested’ for the coronavirus.
And he insisted that l’amour is not completely dead despite the pandemic.
The minister told French radio that while shooting in Europe’s biggest film industry was allowed to restart earlier this month, ‘they waited a bit before doing that kiss that is so important in cinema’.
Reister did not say which film or which actors were the first to get back to on-screen smooching.
‘No, the kiss is not over with,’ the politician declared when asked if social distancing was in danger of killing off love scenes altogether.
French cinemas are to reopen after a three-month coronavirus closure on Monday but with drastic distancing measures that mean they can never be more than half full.
More than 200 film shoots were stopped in March when the coronavirus pandemic put a temporary halt to French cinema’s production, and more than €150 million is thought have have been lost due to the closure.
Extra aid for the art industry was announced by the French government in May which employs 1.3 million people, many of whom were out of work due to the pandemic.
Pictured: 2003’s Jeux d’enfants (Love Me If You Dare) sees Marion Cotillard, who plays Sophie Kowalsky, kissing Julien Janvier, played by Guillaume Canet
Pictured: ‘Pierrot Le Fou’ (1965) starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina, who share a kiss in this scene
Pictured: Audrey Tautou, right, playing the part of Amélie in the 2001 film by the same name, kissed her true love, Nino, played by Mathieu Kassovitz
The number of people who died from coronavirus infection in France rose by 28 to 29,603 on Thursday, the same increase as Wednesday, but the number of new confirmed cases crept up again to reach a five-day high.
Those cases rose by 467, at 158,641, a figure above the daily average of 440 seen over the last seven days. Since the beginning of the month of June, that average stands at 383.
If probable cases in nursing homes are taken in account, the total reaches 194,675, according Reuters calculations, the 11th highest in the world on that basis.
Nursing homes deaths are now only reported on a weekly basis on Tuesday in France, which leads to a spike reported fatalities on that day.
France’s death toll is the fifth-highest in the world.
The ministry said that the number of people in hospital for COVID-19 infections fell by 142 to 10,125 and the number of people in intensive care fell by 20 to 752. Both numbers have been on a downtrend for about 10 weeks.
Meanwhile, British PM Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of the coronavirus economic recovery during the French president’s visit to London, which marked the 80th anniversary of a historic wartime broadcast.
The Prime Minister held bilateral talks with Mr Macron at Downing Street, while they watched a flypast to commemorate General Charles de Gaulle’s address.
On Thursday, Mr Macron gave a passionate speech thanking London for giving his Second World War countrymen and women a voice and platform to fight Nazi tyranny.
He marked the anniversary of the BBC broadcast, which rallied French people in the aftermath of the occupation of France, by visiting the city – his first foreign visit since the Covid-19 outbreak.
During their meeting inside Number 10, Mr Johnson and Mr Macron were expected to discuss the UK’s current two-week quarantine for all arrivals, amid reports that the French president would urge the Government to revisit the decision.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said both reflected on the sacrifices made in the Second World War and the ‘enduring strength of the UK-France relationship’, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘The Prime Minister welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to Downing Street this afternoon to commemorate the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s ‘Appel’,’ the spokeswoman said.
Pictured: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall receive French President Emmanuel Macron during a ceremony at Carlton Gardens on June 18, 2020 in London, England
Pictured: Red Arrows and their French equivalent, Patrouille De France performing a flypast of Paris and London during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the UK on Thursday
‘They agreed that the partnership between our countries will be crucial in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and ensuring the global recovery is green and sustainable.’
As part of the visit to Number 10, the two leaders viewed artefacts documenting General de Gaulle’s time in London and his partnership with Sir Winston Churchill.
Both leaders maintained social distancing as they discussed the items, which included a letter from General de Gaulle thanking Britain’s wartime leader for his support.
At one point Mr Johnson appeared to take a step back from his French counterpart, telling Mr Macron they had to stand two metres apart.
The Red Arrows and their French equivalent, La Patrouille de France, then performed a flypast to mark the anniversary of the Appel, observed by both leaders, who stood in Horse Guards Parade.
A tweet from the official account for the royal family said the Queen spoke with Mr Macron by telephone during his visit.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Macron was welcomed by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who greeted him at Clarence House.
The French leader then delivered a speech in Carlton Gardens, where the Free French had their headquarters.
Mr Macron praised the support the fledgling forces of Free France received from the UK, especially their ‘first weapon, a BBC microphone’ used by General de Gaulle to give his address.
Standing in the shadow of General de Gaulle’s statue, he said: ‘This is where de Gaulle was able to call on the French people to join the resistance. The soldiers of the shadows.
‘Because 80 years ago today, on June 18 1940, the United Kingdom gave Free France its first weapon, a BBC microphone.
‘So the airwaves carried de Gaulle’s determined words and spirit of resistance, which built a bridge across the Channel for those refusing to be enslaved or give up their freedom.’
Behind the president was the framed insignia of France’s highest decoration,the Legion d’Honneur, awarded to London for its support of France during the Second World War.
Mr Macron paid tribute to London as the ‘cradle of Free France’ and went on to say: ‘I wanted to express the French Republic’s infinite gratitude to the city of London by awarding it, in a wholly exceptional capacity, the cross of the Legion d’Honneur.’
It had been presented to Charles, who replied, in French and English: ‘Your presence here today, Mr President, is a powerful demonstration of the bond between our two countries, and between our people, and of our shared determination that it must endure.
‘It is a bond forged through common experience, sanctified through shared sacrifice and burnished by the deep affection in which we hold each other.
‘Time and again our countries have stood together against tyranny and oppression, joining arms to defend the values we hold most dear.’
Listening to the open-air address were French and British dignitaries including the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The event was held with social distancing rules observed and Charles greeted the visiting president with a namaste gesture, clasping the palms of his hands together.