France still building cinemas in the middle of a pandemic

France saw 22 new cinemas open their doors in 2020. Photo: AFP

The coronavirus pandemic might not seem like the obvious time to build new movie theatres, but in cine-mad France, it will take more than a virus to dampen passions for the big screen.

The town of Romorantin, deep in the Loire Valley south of Paris, has a population of 17,000 – which by French standards, makes it ripe for a new multiplex cinema.