It was expected, it is now a reality. France entered this weekend stage 3 of the fight to stem the epidemic of coronavirus which affects the country. Saturday March 14, in a televised address, the Prime Minister announced the closure of all businesses deemed "not essential to the life of the Nation".
He also called on the population to minimize their travel, meetings and contacts. Strong measures which have since raised many questions and uncertainties. In an attempt to see more clearly, 20 Minutes has drawn up a list (not exhaustive and liable to change) of everything that is now prohibited, authorized or strongly advised against.
What is prohibited and / or closed
A decree published in the Official Journal details the list of all the establishments concerned by the closure announcement made on Saturday evening by Edouard Philippe. Restaurants, bars, cafes, nightclubs, libraries, exhibition halls, museums and even game rooms are now closed until further notice. Small artisans, florists, hairdressers, beauty centers are also affected by this opening ban. Restaurants can on the other hand "continue their delivery and take-out" activities. Those using delivery platforms (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, etc.) are now instructed to make "contactless" deliveries. Gatherings of more than 100 people are also prohibited. The nursing homes and retirement homes have for their part decided to prohibit visits by relatives and families of elderly people placed to protect them.
All schools are also closed since Monday March 16 until the spring break. Idem for the courts even if the Minister of Justice indicated that the permanence of the parquet floor, the correctional hearings for the measures of provisional detention and judicial control, the immediate appearances, the presentations before the investigating judge and the liberty judge and from detention, the hearings of the sentencing judge and the juvenile judge remained.
What is allowed
The government has been very clear. The French can always go to do their food shopping, go to the pharmacy, go to their doctor (remote consultation by video is also possible with some practitioners), go to the bank, buy gasoline at a station- service or their newspapers and magazines in kiosks and press houses. On the other hand, all of these activities must be done while respecting the “barrier measures” (washing your hands, keeping a meter away from other customers and users).
In a decree published on Sunday March 15, the Ministry of the Economy listed a long list (available here ) of businesses deemed "essential to the life of the Nation" and therefore benefiting from an authorization to open at the time of confinement. We find for example in this list:
- Supermarkets, supermarkets, hypermarkets
- The early vegetables
- The butchers and delicatessens
- Fishmongers
- Bakeries
- Pet stores
- Computer and digital and computer repair shops
- Laundries laundries
- Funeral directors and funeral services
On the transport side, Minister Elisabeth Borne insisted on maintaining public transport in agglomerations. Long distance transport will be greatly reduced in the coming days. TGV and intercity trains will be cut in half from Tuesday 17 March. Taxis and VTC are always authorized to exercise their activity. Finally, it is obviously always possible to work, but companies are all called upon to set up work from home or telecommuting as much as possible.
Which is strongly discouraged
Apart from these firm prohibitions and authorizations clarified by decree, there therefore remains a very large number of activities vis-à-vis the French. Edouard Philippe indicated on Saturday March 14 that the population had for example the possibility of "going out to exercise". This is indeed the case, but these exercises must be done alone and not in a group or even in pairs. The swimming pools, clubs and gyms remain closed. It is also authorized to maintain its garden, its vegetable garden, to walk on the beach, in forest or in assembly, to make bicycle, to walk its dog, but all these activities are very strongly advised by the health authorities.
Our file on the coronavirus
Everything that requires people to move around and meet - go to dinner with a friend, invite school friends of their children to their home, bring them to a park (all the more if they are frequented by other families) should be avoided since this contributes to the spread of the virus. If the message seems difficult to hear, it is now clear: to avoid congestion in hospitals and limit the spread of the virus as much as possible, you have to stay at home.
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