While France's current needs for anti-coronavirus masks are estimated at 40 million per week for carers and nursing homes, according to the Élysée Palace. authorities are forced to source from abroad. On Monday, the first delivery from China arrived at Paris-Vatry airport, with eight and a half million masks unloaded on board under very close surveillance.
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Gendarmes around stacks of cardboard
Dozens of gendarmes were, for example, armed on the tarmac and cannons were ready to shoot down drones in the event of an intrusion. A device usually reserved for visits by heads of state, which on Monday leaving the plane, was used to protect piles of boxes containing these eight and a half million masks.
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The authorities were concerned with preventing theft or looting of the precious cargo. This almost surreal scene even continued on the road, like an armored van. The trucks loaded with masks were escorted by the police to the department's secure warehouses.
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Apart from the gendarmes present to monitor the scene, soldiers from Operation "Resilience" were mobilized. The masks are expected to be redistributed by the end of the week in hospitals and pharmacies across the country.
French production in progress
To provide masks to the population, France is nevertheless looking for far less distant solutions. Emmanuel Macron will be visiting Tuesday morning at one of the four major French producers of masks: the factory of the SME Kolmi-Hopen near Angers in Maine-et-Loire. A company that now runs 24 hours a day but not enough to produce the 40 million masks needed per week.