A thousand days after post-covid reopening, nightclubs still not celebrating

They closed for more than two years due to the health crisis. Since then, 1000 days after the post-covid reopening, several hundred nightclubs have closed their curtains for good. The others are gradually returning to pre-2020 attendance. From now on, it is in particular the crisis in purchasing power which is weighing on the activity of the nightlife world.

Trophy in hand and big smile, Sophie Rault does not shy away from her pleasure. With her husband, she has just won one of the 13 awards, awarded with great fanfare this Monday, January 13, 2025, at the Louvres carousel. Both are co-managers of the “Top 80” nightclub located in Quessoy in Côtes-d’Armor. They obtained a first prize in the “territorial animation” category awarded each year by the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries.

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“It’s a real recognition. We are happy. We set up this establishment from scratch 12 years ago. We started from nothing“, rejoices Sophie Rault.

The discotheque finds its place in an artisanal area and in a rural environment. A nightclub which chooses not to welcome the youngest. “Prohibited to under 25s and sneakers” specifies the manager who adds “There were no nightclubs for old people with 80s music.“

The establishment will gradually become known. Six to eight months of word of mouth to finally welcome nearly a thousand customers on weekend evenings. For the boss of the Top 80, the adventure remains marked by the covid years. “Covid slowed down our activity and we did not regain the attendance before the pandemic“.

In the meantime, customers have changed their habits. “They frequent bars a lot more or stay with friends now“insists the manager of Top 80. A nightlife world that must constantly adapt to new constraints in terms of security, but also customer support in relation to alcohol consumption…”People are there to have fun, we are there for them to have fun, but we don’t have fun, because there are a lot of regulations“.

They closed the nightclubs but not the swingers clubs. During covid, the situation was very poorly managed

Carl Hautbois

owner “Le Gossip Club” in Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine)

130 kilometers away, in Vitré in Ille-et-Vilaine, Carl Hautbois manages Gossip. In total, two rooms, one for urban music intended for younger people, and the other for sounds from the 70s to 2000, sought after by 30/55 year olds. “We suffered very poor management of the situation ” estimates Carl Hautbois, at the head of the company which has 13 employees.

The business leader has a harsh grudge against the public authorities of the time. “The Minister of Health never wanted to receive representatives of the profession. They closed the nightclubs, but not the swingers clubs“A business leader who confesses”We have lost feathers and not only financially. From a psychological point of view too. Above all, there was a lot of absurdity in the decisions that were made.“

Even if after covid and at the time of reopening, customers returned massively, the sector must now face other crises and in particular that of the drop in customers’ purchasing power.

And Carl Hautbois says clearly what others tend to keep silent. “As politicians have treated us as non-essential businesses, we feel things well before other sectors. We are at least six months ahead in terms of knowing the psychological state of the French. In people’s mouths, since the end of 2023, they have been repeating the same things. People are in the dark. The crisis situation we are experiencing scares everyone.” As a result, in this nightclub in Vitré, even if the clientele is there, the average basket has fallen by around 20%.

A fragile situation experienced by the entire nightlife sector in France. According to Laurent Lutse, president of the CBEN (Cafes, Bars, Night Establishments) branch within the national Umih (The Union of Hotel Trades and Industries), the figures are bad: “We were more than 1,200 companies before Covid and now we are around 1,000“A collapse which can be explained by cash flow problems.”Companies have enormous difficulty repaying their PGE (state-guaranteed loan) loans. Some have borrowed several hundred thousand euros which must be repaid. There are also increases in raw materials, taxes and social charges..”

Same story for Régis Toutain who manages the famous “Myssil” in Pontivy in Morbihan. The club manager is also president of the Umih du Morbihan. For him, “We had covid and now, we continue to experience different and successive crises. One bad news chases the next. Three establishments have closed in Morbihan.”

Our sector does not live under cover.

Régis Toutain

patron club “Le Myssil” in Pontivy (Morbihan)

Not to mention a phenomenon that worries the profession. “We live with growing insecurity in society.” says the manager of Myssil. “Our sector does not live under cover. One of the biggest difficulties for us now is managing refusals at the door.” He specifies “The public health code prohibits us from bringing in people who are alcoholic or who have abnormal behavior. Our employees and ourselves are all on the front line. I was shocked to learn what happened in Marseille a few days ago in front of a nightclub.”
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, a bouncer at a nightclub in the 11th arrondissement in the Valentine district of Marseille was shot dead. The 38-year-old employee, fatally injured in the head, had pushed away the alleged perpetrator some time before.

For Régis Toutain, new arrangements must be made to better support the nightclub sector. “We need to reduce standards and regulations”. But for him, there is a new difficulty. “Many nightclubs have passed covid, but the situation remains very fragile. And we also have to endure government instability, which prevents us from moving forward on many issues..”

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For Laurent Lutse, for the national Umih, the sector still manages to modernize. “Night begins day. People party after work. There are also now 8,500 night bars and dance bars. Not to mention the proliferation of taverns. It is also not uncommon for nightclubs to offer catering to broaden their offering and their clientele.”

Diversifying is precisely the challenge that the owners of the Top 80 company in Quessoy have taken on. With their daughter, Carla, Sophie and Philippe Rault opened a 150 m² bar.

A way to attract the public and try to keep them until the end of the night.