Cannes Covid protocols: Masks, testing of attendees won’t be mandatory

Los Angeles, May 4: The Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off on May 17, is significantly loosening its Covid health and safety protocols. The annual celebration of movies won’t be testing attendees, as it did last year, and will not institute a mask mandate at screenings and events, says a report. Variety spoke exclusively with Cannes general secretary FranAois Desrousseaux, who has been hammering out protocols with the festival’s organisers, producers and Cannes regional authorities for the past two years. One big change compared with 2021 is that the health pass that made it mandatory for all attendees to show a proof of vaccination, immunity or test results, has been scrapped since March 14. “Since the health pass is no longer in application in France, guests will not have to show a proof of testing or vaccination to enter the Palais,” Desrousseaux said. The executive said “most participants will likely be vaccinated anyway, because France has made it very complicated for non-vaccinated travellers to enter the country.” He also pointed out that roughly 95 per cent of the adult population in France has already received two shots of the vaccine.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    “We’re in a very different situation than last year because the curve of Covid-19 infections is going down, instead of going up,” the Paris-based executive said.