Paris (AFP)

After watching the snow fall, France began to apply on Saturday a general curfew at 6:00 p.m., a new turn of the screw to which resigned traders comply, Jean Castex calling for a vaccination "in the calm" to try to stem the epidemic.

The Prime Minister, visiting Lyon to promote the government's recovery plan, said 390,000 people had been vaccinated to date in France and that a million vaccination appointments had been made.

He called for a "calm" vaccination, acknowledging that the five million people over 75 years old could not be vaccinated "in a matter of days".

After the cold sweats caused by the announcement of a drop in production "for three to four weeks" in vaccine production, the American group Pfizer, associated with the German laboratory BioNTech, announced on Saturday a "plan" to accelerate the pace and revert to the original schedule for deliveries to the EU "from the week of January 25".

In the meantime, the curfew at 6:00 p.m., already in force in 25 departments, now extends to the entire metropolitan territory and "for at least 15 days", as Mr. Castex announced Thursday.

Shortly after 6 p.m., the streets of Pantin, still partially covered with snow, gradually emptied, but were not yet deserted: customers rushed home with their groceries, families returned to their homes and a man was lugging his Christmas tree around. a snowy sidewalk.

Faced with the threat of new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus, the government needs to "further reduce social contacts at the end of the day".

The Mayotte prefecture confirmed on Saturday a first case of the South African variant and announced the suspension of international sea and air links for 15 days from Sunday.

- Reduced turnover -

The number of cases remains high in France with 21,217 confirmed in 24 hours on Friday, and around 20,000 new ones recorded every day since the beginning of the year, far from the 5,000 expected in mid-December by the government, according to Public Health France.

The exemptions remain the same as before (business travel, for a medical appointment, for a compelling reason ...) but the businesses must now lower the curtain at 6:00 p.m.

Bad news again, a few days before the start of the sales, but also for the restaurants also closed until mid-February and which are trying to survive thanks to take-out sales.

"It's a hassle. Our turnover is reduced and we cannot open earlier than 9 am. Today the customers came as hard as possible, they come before closing," said a few minutes before declining the curtain Vanessa A, saleswoman in a telephone and repair shop in Pantin, on the outskirts of Paris.

Usually, "most people come after 5 pm, after work so it's not good for us. But we respect the government's decision, we prefer that to a re-containment," she says.

In Toulouse, opposite the Capitol, Christian, small round glasses and elegant puffer jacket, is the manager of Café Albert, a beautiful brasserie under the brick arcades of this square, which is the heart of Toulouse.

He opened a counter to sell waffles and pancakes to take away in front of his establishment: "just to get in some cash".

“It gets complicated. Look at 5:30 am, usually it's crowded. People respect the curfew,” he adds.

Schools are open but indoor school and extracurricular sports activities are suspended and the health protocol in canteens will be reinforced.

- Obstacle course -

On Monday, the vaccination campaign will therefore be extended to people over 75 years old who do not live in nursing homes, as well as to people with high-risk pathologies (chronic renal failure, cancer under treatment, etc.).

Friday, 833 centers were "open and accessible for reservation", assured the Minister of Health Olivier Véran.

However, making an appointment, possible since Thursday morning, is sometimes akin to an obstacle course, even if "more than a million appointments were made on Friday", according to the Ministry of Health.

The sante.fr site, which was initially to redirect to one of the three private booking platforms, only displayed a list of vaccination locations by department on Saturday.

And the immunization windows of many centers were full by midday.

In the regions most affected by the epidemic, mayors such as François Rebsamen (PS) in Dijon or Anne Vignot (EELV) in Besançon denounced "the State's deficiencies in the delivery of vaccines", in a joint statement.

Traveling in the Allier, Mr. Castex replied: "Our fellow citizens would not understand that in the serious health crisis in which we find ourselves (...) that we get lost in unnecessary controversies and chicayas", a- he said, alongside the president (LR) of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Laurent Wauquiez.

© 2021 AFP