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France is one of the hardest-hit countries from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but the country has slowly started to re-open after a months-long lockdown (the Louvre just welcomed visitors again earlier this week). Needless to say, life is nowhere near back to normal. So with social distancing in full effect, officials in Paris are getting creative with ways to entertain the citizens and visitors of the capital this summer.
Related: Drive-In Movies Across the Country to Visit During Social Distancing
The result? A pop-up floating movie night will take place in the waters of the Bassin de La Villette on July 18.
The event is part of the annual Paris Plages initiative, which turns the banks of the Seine River into a makeshift summer resort with swimming pools and different kinds of recreational activities. To celebrate the opening of the program’s 2020 season, the city of Paris has planned the first-ever “cinéma sur l’eau” (cinema on the water) where Parisians and visitors get a free show of the French comedy Le Grand Bain about a group of 40 and 50-something men who form a synchronized swimming team. Reserving a spot in one of the 38 electric boats (that seat two to six people) is not a given, though. People are invited to sign up online to participate in a lottery that will take place on July 15. Those who don’t make it to the boats can try and snag one of the 150 deckchairs that will be set up on shore for the screening. Officials are installing a 52x29 foot movie screen on the banks of the Seine River especially for the event.
We can only hope that the screening is so successful that it becomes a regular event in Paris (after all this is the most romantic city on earth) so we, too, can enjoy it once we are allowed to travel to Europe again.
