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Wednesday 28 October 2020
In France, too, people must be prepared for new measures: according to President Macron, strict restrictions on contacts will be applied as of Friday to break the second wave of the crown in the country. Unlike spring, he wants to keep schools open.
With exit restrictions across the country, France is stepping up its fight against the second wave of the crown pandemic. The restrictions have applied since Friday, President Emmanuel Macron announced in a televised speech. The 42-year-old made it clear that the restrictions are less stringent than in the spring, when public life in the country was largely paralyzed. So schools should remain open. However, bars and restaurants have to close.
The measures are initially limited to 1 December. “Stay at home as much as possible”, Macron appealed to his compatriots. Macron made it clear that the situation is dire. “We are overwhelmed by the acceleration of the epidemic,” he said. The development also affects other European countries.
The new restrictions are not unexpected for the approximately 67 million French people. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal had already announced a “new stage” before the head of state’s speech. “The second wave is here,” the spokesperson said after a cabinet meeting. Everything must be done to avoid being overwhelmed by this wave.
The situation is getting worse
In the cabinet meeting, the head of state spoke of a massive, general and largely unexpected deterioration in Europe. Macron also discussed the crown situation twice in two days in a national security council. So far, the night curfew has been applied to about two thirds of the population, or about 46 million people.
The crown situation in the country has been deteriorating dramatically for weeks. More recently, over 36,400 new infections were counted within 24 hours. The number of deaths associated with the coronavirus has increased significantly – authorities reported 523 on Tuesday evening. They returned to their April highs. Authorities reported 244 deaths on Wednesday evening, the total number now being nearly 35,800.
Spokesman Attal said in two weeks a situation similar to that at the height of the first epidemic wave in the spring is threatening in the intensive care wards of hospitals. At that time, exit restrictions in France were among the strictest in Europe, schools were closed. Citizens then had to show certificates when they were checked on the street.
Attal said the health crisis is also triggering an economic and social crisis in the country. “We respond strongly,” he said. There are fears in the country that public sector industries will be increasingly threatened by a blockade. “In the hotel, gastronomic, cultural, tourism and elsewhere sectors, many who have so far resisted at their best, will no longer have the strength to face such a challenge a second time”, warned the conservative daily “Le Figaro”.
The head of state had addressed the citizens only two weeks ago. At that time it announced a night curfew for Paris and other metropolitan areas. Subsequently, Prime Minister Jean Castex’s center government extended the restrictions to 54 departments and the overseas territory of French Polynesia. Criticism of the government’s handling of the crisis has come from the opposition. He felt like “constant improvisation,” influential Conservative MP Eric Ciotti tweeted.
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