President Emmanuel Macron spoke to the nation on Wednesday to announce new restrictions meant to curb an alarming Covid-19 surge.
A 9 PM to 6 AM curfew goes into effect tonight in Paris and eight other metro areas where Macron declared a health emergency. The affected cities are: Paris/Ile de France, Aix-Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Montpellier, Lille, Rouen, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne.
People going out during the curfew will be expected to carry a travel exemption certificate or face a possible fine of 135€ ($158) for travelling without it. Travel is allowed for work, shopping for necessities, health reasons, caring for seniors or children, as well as brief outings close to home for exercise or the needs of pets.
Macron ordered the curfew for a period of four weeks, the full length the executive is allowed to do, and he asked Parliament to extend it further to December 1.
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The rationale he gave for the curfew is to save the country’s hospitals which are expected to run out of ICU beds in the weeks ahead due to the surge in cases in some regions. So far, there were over 240,000 new cases this month.
The number of deaths is still far below the levels seen in April but with the huge increase in cases, fatalities are also expected to rise in the weeks ahead.
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For French restaurant and bar owners and their workers the announcement was an unwelcome blow. Many suffered losses during the shutdown earlier this year and now they won’t be allowed to stay open past 9 PM. The same goes for movies, theaters and concert venues.
Macron appealed directly to young people, acknowledging their sacrifice this year, “It’s hard to be 20 in 2020,” and calling on them to “try a little harder” and to watch out for each other. His critics mocked him for the infantilization, or babying, of the public.
On the Left, Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Insoumise, tweeted, “60% of exposures occur at work, school or university between 8AM and 7PM. But Macron prohibits outings to bars and restaurants between 10 PM and 6 AM. Welcome to Absurdia!” (He was wrong about the time. The curfew starts at 9 PM.)
The Left-leaning newspaper, Liberation, ran a story about the real threat facing young Parisians – the death of the city’s once-thriving night life, “For young Parisians, the curfew makes no sense.” In the 11th arrondissement packed with trendy hangouts a design student summed up the mood, “If we live in Paris, it’s to have a good time.”
https://www.liberation.fr/france/2020/10/15/pour-les-jeunes-parisiens-le-couvre-feu-n-est-pas-logique_1802413