Lea Seydoux tests COVID positive ahead of Cannes appearance

James Bond actress Lea Seydoux, who was to appear next week at the Cannes Film Festival, where organisers are trying to keep COVID-19 contagion in check, has tested positive for COVID-19 in Paris, entertainment site Variety reported on Saturday.

The world’s biggest cinema showcase, which kicked off on the French Riviera on July 6 and has so far drawn stars from around the world despite health crisis restrictions, was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

This year’s reboot is taking place amid rising cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus in France, although vaccinations are also progressing and festival organisers are running tight testing checks on attendees.

French actress Seydoux is one of the big stars of this year’s edition, with four films showing at Cannes, and three in its main competition, including Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, which is to premiere on Monday.

Variety cited a spokesperson for Seydoux as confirming her positive test despite being fully vaccinated and asymptomatic. The spokesperson said she would remain in quarantine for now.

Reuters could not immediately reach her publicist and film representatives for comment. It was not immediately clear whether she would cancel her appearances.

Festival organisers, who helped set up a free saliva testing centre for COVID-19 close to the site where stars approach the red carpet, said there were no signs of a “Cannes cluster”.

Several thousand people attending the festival were tested on Friday and none tested positive, a spokesperson said.

Hollywood stars, including Matt Damon, have made the trip to France for Cannes’ return, though attendance overall is down from previous years and veterans said there were far fewer glitzy parties, often held on yachts off the coast.