French president Emmanuel Macron promised guaranteed stipends for out-of-work actors and money for filmmakers whose productions have been cancelled, as part of a bailout for an arts industry shut down by the coronavirus.French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he takes part in a video conference with artists from different fields at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France May 6, 2020 before announcing the first orientations of a “culture plan” as France is under a strict lockdown to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Macron’s government had been under fire for failing to act quickly enough to shield France’s theatres, libraries and concert halls from the turmoil wrought by the pandemic.

Like other European countries, France has launched a programme to pay most of the salaries of many employees sent home during the lockdown. But that has not covered many in the arts, who often work from gig to gig.

France has around a quarter of a million actors, musicians, dancers, set designers and other artists on short term contracts. Such workers, known as “intermittents”, receive state stipends to help cover costs between jobs provided they work at least 507 hours per year.

With venues shut due to the virus, Macron said he would waive the minimum work requirement for artists to receive those stipends until August next year.

Choreographer Nicolas Maloufi said uncertainty was a fact of life in an industry where he needs short-term contracts from three or four employers over the course of a year to have a hope of making up the required hours. The stipend was critical to helping performers and technicians stay afloat.

“We need this regular stream of income to see us through the irregular flow of work,” he said Maloufi.