Local confinements: does the executive want to save time before total confinement?

The weekend confinement of Nice and its coast, but also of the agglomeration of Dunkirk, announced Wednesday by the Minister of Health, responds to the requests of local elected officials in the face of the progression of the Covid-19 epidemic in these areas.

But the track of a national reconfinement is again on the table of the executive.

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The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced on Wednesday afternoon the establishment of a weekend containment for the city of Dunkirk and its surroundings, which are facing a very worrying epidemic situation, with indicators of follow-up much higher than during the first two waves of Covid-19 contamination.

In all, about ten departments are of particular concern to the executive.

At the end of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, Gabriel Attal, the government spokesperson, in particular listed the Hauts-de-France region, to which Dunkirk belongs, but also the Île-de-France and the Paca region.

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In these regions, the government is working on targeted, local and effective responses, with the possibility of local lockdowns.

Nice, which will also be reconfigured over the weekend with its coastline, and Dunkirk will therefore serve as a benchmark for this new strategy.

"We are preparing to switch other departments," says an important adviser.

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Let the French enjoy their holidays 

At the top of the State, we want to fully play the local card without guarantee, however, that weekend confinement is an effective solution.

"If we considered that containment was needed today, we would have decided on containment. All our efforts must continue to avoid having to decide on a new national containment, obviously without the certainty that we will succeed. ", explained Gabriel Attal.

Behind the scenes, we also understand that the executive wants above all to save time, to leave the French the opportunity to enjoy their vacation a little.

"We are in a moment of truth", confides a minister.

The only certainty, despite the requests for relaxation demanded by some elected officials, especially in Brittany, is that the tone of the executive has changed and that it is now much more serious.