Emmanuel Macron will speak this evening at 8 p.m. on television, possibly announcing the total confinement of France in the coming hours. A complicated situation, for such a difficult people.
This Sunday evening the toll of the new coronavirus increased considerably in France, with officially 5,423 cases recorded (more than 900 more in twenty-four hours), and 127 dead related to the disease. A balance sheet that seems underestimated insofar as, in our country, whoever wants is not tested.
One of the most effective ways to stem the spread of the virus is to limit social interactions as much as possible. With this in mind, all "non-essential businesses" have been asked to close shop Saturday night at midnight, pending better days. At the same time, the French were asked to "turn their backs" by staying at home. But the French are complicated.
This Sunday indeed, thousands of Parisians piled up on the lawns, taking advantage of the good weather, while in Marseille the police had to intervene to close bars, some owners not following the instructions. Meanwhile in Bordeaux, many inhabitants came to do their shopping as if nothing had happened, stuck against each other.
“People don't realize at all. There are 20 centimeters between two people, it seems like a story that does not exist, testifies an exasperated doctor on Franceinfo. The wave is coming, it will seriously shake “.
And he's not the only one worried. Professor Philippe Juvin, head of emergencies at the Parisian Georges-Pompidou hospital, said on Monday that the coronavirus epidemic was causing “an influx of patients in hospitals, where some intensive care units “are already overwhelmed ". In the Haut-Rhin, "the resuscitation capacities are exceeded in Mulhouse, while the Colmar hospital suffers from "shortages of equipment “.
Finally in the Paris region, “we witnessed a doubling of the number of patients hospitalized in intensive care (…) in three days " , he added. According to him, "there are not ten solutions, there is only one (…) the population must be confined “.
The executive is obviously aware of this concern expressed by health professionals.
According to The World , a telephone meeting would indeed have taken place this Sunday afternoon between the cabinet directors of the government to study the question of "total confinement". Emmanuel Macron will also meet this afternoon for a lunch "in Defense Council format", indicates the Elysée, and an announcement by the President will be made this evening on television. This quarantine could therefore take place in the next few hours.
But then, what could the daily life of the French look like in the event of total confinement? To find out, let's look at the model of Italy.
The European country hardest hit by Covid-19 is effectively in total quarantine since March 9, until April 3 . The decree "Lo resto a casa" ("I stay at home") now restricts all travel. The situation can be summed up as follows:the inhabitants of the whole territory are authorized to go out only for "duly verified professional imperatives and "emergency situations, for health reasons “.
A form, available on the government website, must also be completed before going out. Otherwise, offenders are liable to a fine of 206 euros and a 3-month prison sentence.
“You need a specific and valid reason to go out:buy food, go to the pharmacy or go to work , explains Anna, a young Frenchwoman living in Milan, contacted by RTL. There are police patrolling by car and on foot, asking people what they are doing outside. If you don't have anything to justify yourself, they give you a fine “.
The young woman also specifies that entries in supermarkets are made in dribs and drabs. Everyone thus queues in front of the doors, and a certain safety distance between each individual must be respected.
In the event of total containment, the situation could be relatively similar on the French side within a few hours or a few days, depending on the evolution of the situation. If the Italians seem a priori disciplined, now respecting the instructions of their government to the letter, we do not know how the French people could really react to such a decree. Once again, the French are complicated.
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