No time for conviviality: France imposes curfews to beat back coronavirus

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No time for conviviality: France imposes curfews to beat back coronavirus

By Benoit Van Overstraeten and Christian Lowe

 

A woman watches French President Emmanuel Macron on a TV screen in Nice as he speaks during an interview on national television, to announce further measures to tackle a second wave of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak sweeping across France, October 14, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

 

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron ordered a third of France's population be put under nightly curfew on Wednesday to tackle a surging second wave of the coronavirus, saying now was not the time for conviviality.

 

The virus was spreading at parties and private gatherings, the president said, and action was needed now in Paris and eight other big French cities to slow the rate of infection or else hospitals risked being overwhelmed.

 

Macron said the curfews were to put a temporary halt to "the parties, the moments of conviviality where there are 50 or 60 people, festive evenings because, unfortunately, these are vectors for the acceleration of the disease."

 

Macron announced the curfews, which will take effect from Saturday and run nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning, hours after the government declared a new state of emergency.

 

The curfews will last an initial four weeks, but Macron said the government would seek a two-week extension from parliament, meaning the measures will be in place until Dec. 1.

 

"It means that we won't go to restaurants after 9 p.m., we won't go round to a friend's place, we won't go out partying," the president said in an interview on national television.

 

France, like other European countries, is grappling with how to slow the virus’ spread and ease pressure on a once-again strained healthcare system while keeping its 2.3 trillion euro ($2.71 trillion) economy open and protecting jobs.

 

On Wednesday it reported 22,591 new cases, the third time in six days the daily COVID tally has gone beyond the 20,000 threshold. The virus has killed more than 32,000 in France.

 

The curfew applies to the Paris region, Marseille, Toulouse, Grenoble, Montpellier, Rouen, Lyon, Saint-Etienne and Lille. The cities have a combined population of about 20 million people.

 

"WELL GET THROUGH THIS"

Macron said France faced a worrying situation.

 

"We have to adopt stricter measures in order to completely restore control," the president continued.

 

Essential trips during curfew would still be allowed, Macron said. There would be no restrictions on public transport, and people would still be able to travel between regions without restrictions.

 

Anyone violating the curfews will be fined 135 euros ($159).

 

Macron said the goal was to reduce the current rate of 20,000 new cases per day to around 3,000 and to sharply reduce the burden on intensive care units in hospitals.

 

The French government previously declared a state of emergency in March, when hospitalisations caused by the pandemic were near their peak. That time, the authorities used their extra powers to put France under lockdown except for essential work, buying food or taking one hour of daily exercise.

 

Another national lockdown was not envisaged, said Macron.

 

"We'll get through this if we stick together," the president said.

 

But the move is likely to infuriate France's already-battered hospitality industry, reeling from the three-month spring confinement and a more recent government-ordered shutdown of bars in virus hotspots.

 

Brasserie manager Steve Dervechian said his turnover was down more than half over the summer and even more during lockdown. Depriving him of a dinner crowd would be a disaster, he said hours before Macron spoke.

 

"A curfew will not stop the virus. People congregate in public transport, at work, in schools," he said. It's not in places like ours where people gather in big crowds."

 

(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraten and Christian Lowe; Additional reporting by Geert de Clercq; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Mike Collett-White and Toby Chopra)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-10-15

 

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[Tug]

Good luck France you are in my prayers hopefully a fact based scientific approach will win the day

[bartender100]

Never thought I would say this, but well done Macron, bold action

[madmen]

They waited until now to do this? Thailand did this early so way ahead of the pack. It's no wonder the numbers are so low here 

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, madmen said:

They waited until now to do this? Thailand did this early so way ahead of the pack. It's no wonder the numbers are so low here 

 

Closing the borders, partial lockdowns, curfews, alcohol ban and strict mask enforcement and temperature checks when buying essentials. Little, hardly any panic buying, tiny supply chain disruptions. 

 

But some TVF posters just can't bring themselves to admit Thailand, the government and people, handled this so much better than all those vaunted Western utopias.

[Donga]

30 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Closing the borders, partial lockdowns, curfews, alcohol ban and strict mask enforcement and temperature checks when buying essentials. Little, hardly any panic buying, tiny supply chain disruptions. 

 

But some TVF posters just can't bring themselves to admit Thailand, the government and people, handled this so much better than all those vaunted Western utopias.

Agree, though add the huge impact of the one million health volunteers when so many workers returned to the provinces when BKK was locked down. They helped so much to provide information, isolate those with symptoms, contact trace, provide masks. Those provincial outbreaks were controlled very quickly. 

Pity so many TVF posters are still in denial on Thailand's success, which both WHO and John Hopkins University have recognised.

Wishing France can get their case numbers down soon. At least their death rates are minuscule  compared to their first wave...
 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Donga

[Magenta408]

Macron thinks like all great thinkers do - say Doris Johnson that viruses are much more active after 9 or 10 PM. Much more active. The virus sleeps during the day and wakens at night.

[ReLo]

how can these EU governments all be so idiot ?

the correct way to proceed was clear from the start, but no, they still wanted to open their $hithole countries faster, then look at the results.

How can people vote for these skums is unbelievable !

 

 

[ReLo]

3 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

But some TVF posters just can't bring themselves to admit Thailand, the government and people, handled this so much better than all those vaunted Western utopias.

 

Really , some people still cannot understand how ridiculous are EU countries and USA ?

 

[ReLo]

7 hours ago, madmen said:

They waited until now to do this? Thailand did this early so way ahead of the pack. It's no wonder the numbers are so low here 

 

yes ! April 2nd !

And the losers do it 6 months later ! how stupid !

 

[from the home of CC]

On 10/15/2020 at 10:17 AM, Baerboxer said:

 

Closing the borders, partial lockdowns, curfews, alcohol ban and strict mask enforcement and temperature checks when buying essentials. Little, hardly any panic buying, tiny supply chain disruptions. 

 

But some TVF posters just can't bring themselves to admit Thailand, the government and people, handled this so much better than all those vaunted Western utopias.

imo western educational standards are way over rated.. 

[from the home of CC]

On 10/15/2020 at 2:09 PM, ReLo said:

 

yes ! April 2nd !

And the losers do it 6 months later ! how stupid !

 

and they're still whining and waffling about it lol..

[from the home of CC]

On 10/15/2020 at 10:38 AM, Donga said:

Agree, though add the huge impact of the one million health volunteers when so many workers returned to the provinces when BKK was locked down. They helped so much to provide information, isolate those with symptoms, contact trace, provide masks. Those provincial outbreaks were controlled very quickly. 

Pity so many TVF posters are still in denial on Thailand's success, which both WHO and John Hopkins University have recognised.

Wishing France can get their case numbers down soon. At least their death rates are minuscule  compared to their first wave...
 

I only see the death rates climbing again if they run out of ICU space for treatment is so much more efficient. The trouble is that when the death rates are being contained the dim witted believe it's a non issue displaying behaviors that again spike hospital admissions. Round and round they will go I guess till death rates rise again spooking all the fools to comply with health regs..