French Sports Minister Reiterates No Fans Until '21

French Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports Jean-Michel Blanquer on Tuesday indicated that French fans "won't be returning to stadiums in December, but January is a possibility." French President Emmanuel Macron, when announcing a new national lockdown last month, said that fans wouldn't be allowed in stadiums until at least January. But since then, the possibility of a Dec. 15 return "had been evoked" by French media. Blanquer said when fans are allowed back in France, capacity limits will be based "not on an absolute number, like it was in the past, when we said 5,000, for example, but a number that is proportional the size of the stadium." He added, "Twenty-five percent? Maybe. We'll see. It could be one person per four seats, every other seat, it depends on the data from the epidemic" (L'EQUIPE, 12/8).