REPORTAGE
"Don't you know it's compulsory in Lille?" Over, prevention. While Paris has decided to imitate large cities like Marseille by imposing the wearing of a compulsory mask in many neighborhoods, the measure has been in force in the capital of Flanders for just under two weeks. Only the most frequented areas are concerned: around the citadel, the train stations and the city center, near the Grande Place. It was there that a police operation was held on Friday afternoon. After 15 days of pedagogy, the authorities no longer joke and verbalize.
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Forgetting a mask that can be expensive
"Oh no, I didn't know," replies a young Parisian. "And don't you know it's compulsory in Paris?" asks the peacekeeper. “Well, I don't know, not everyone wears it in Paris”. But disbelief will not pass, and the policeman ends the exchange. "This is not a question: you should know that in Lille as in Paris, wearing a mask is compulsory. Unfortunately, you will have to follow my colleagues and they will fined you for not wearing a mask."
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Some people plead "the desire to breathe"
Forgetting has been expensive: a fine of 135 euros. Because the health authorities have observed it: some residents do not wear masks. Sometimes it is a simple oversight when leaving the restaurant, but others plead "want to breathe". Others still do not live in Lille and live in communes where the wearing of the mask is not obligatory, as testifies a Northerner at the microphone of Europe 1. "Me, I come from Maubeuge and with us, it is not obligatory therefore to be fined for that whereas I am not from here ... "
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"Those who do not wear masks, we systematically verbalize them"
But these excuses no longer pass. The “compulsory masks” signs have sprung up everywhere and the time for teaching is over. In just over an hour and a half, fifteen people were fined. "Overall, it is fairly well respected", analyzes Commander Voreux "We still have a large majority of people who wear the mask, but some wear it badly, so we still make reminders", he explains, while showing firmness. "Those who do not wear it, they are systematically verbalized. We must be responsible and anyone who does not understand it deserves a sanction," he said at the microphone of Europe 1.