What is your presence on the African continent?
We have opened two multiplexes (8 and 6 screens) in Tunisia and we plan to open a new multiplex in Dakar in the first half of 2021. We also have a construction site underway in Abidjan and two others in Morocco.
This expansion is a gamble, but we believe in it. Of course, if we succeed in Dakar and Abidjan, two of West Africa's leading cities, we will consider other development opportunities in other countries.
You will soon be opening a multiplex in Dakar. Can you tell us about the project?
This new multiplex in Dakar, called "Mermoz," will have seven screens and approximately 1,400 seats. With these seven screens, we will be able to offer audiences a very rich program with a wide choice of films. There will, of course, be blockbusters and French-language African films. We also want to promote Senegalese cinema, as there is some real talent there.
How do you think your arrival will be perceived by the Senegalese population?
Cinema has always been very popular in the country. In Senegal, as in the rest of French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, movie theaters largely disappeared during the transition to digital, a period during which pressure on real estate contributed significantly to their closure. Today, the people of Senegal and Dakar have a real desire to reconnect with culture and the seventh art. A few theaters have already opened, but they are generally single-screen theaters like CANALOlympia
. Thanks to this new multiplex, we will be able to offer more film choices to moviegoers in Dakar.
In terms of pricing, everything has not yet been finalized
,
but we want to give as many people as possible access to the cinema.
The Vivendi group is already well established in the region through its CANALOlympia network. There are also the Majestic theaters in Côte d'Ivoire. How do you view your arrival and development in such a context?
We are working in complete transparency with the operators already present. The more options there are, the more choice there is and therefore the more viewers there are. It's very important to give viewers the choice to go and see the film they want to see.