The police find it very difficult to enforce confinement in Marseille, where prohibitions are increasing. - Daniel Cole / AP / SIPA

  • In Marseilles, people did not respect the confinement instructions on Wednesday, by going for a walk by the beach or by making the children play in the squares.
  • The prefect of Bouches-du-Rhone has issued a decree prohibiting access to the square, and public security announces a multiplication of verbalizations.
  • The police feel helpless in the face of the situation, without security measures.

"Wednesday afternoon was carnage." In Marseille, difficult to enforce the containment measures put in place by the government since Tuesday noon to fight against the spread of the new coronavirus in France. Sun, beach, promenade, jogging, all the reasons were good to defy the ban, now punishable by a fine of 135 euros.

This police source evokes "general incivisms". “People pretend they are on Easter holidays. Kids play in the squares with other children, Tuesday on the Prado beaches it was a parade of strollers with kids, a parade of pseudo-joggers. At the flea market, the situation is unbelievable. Nobody respects the safety distances. In fact it is the same everywhere, in the beautiful districts as in the northern districts. We are not Latin for nothing, ”laughed the yellow policeman.

171 tickets sent Wednesday

Within the public security of Bouches-du-Rhône we explain "to have entered the phase of repression. 135 euros, that dissuades. We are sure not to see them again the next day, and we will multiply the verbalizations, ”we warn. According to the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters, "on Wednesday, the fixed and mobile checks carried out by the police and gendarmes throughout the department led to the filing of 171 tickets of 135 euros for violations of containment measures".

@BFMTV # COVID19 #coronavirus #marseille why nobody says that confinement is a masquerade and is absolutely not respected in Marseille? I live on the old port and there is no control, people play group sports, and stroll around the port. pic.twitter.com/vK5GauiH8Z

- Romain De Zbar (@RomainZAD) March 19, 2020

But this "repression phase" does not seem to be enough, the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône Pierre Dartout this Thursday issued an order to prohibit access to the beaches, which are very crowded since the start of confinement, and until the end of containment period. Which should necessarily be extended in the face of such incivism. Already on Wednesday, access to the Calanques Park was formally prohibited.

Already sick leave

“But the instructions have a hard time getting through. I have colleagues in the Paris region who embark certain people for contempt and rebellion after having amended them several times. And the thought of putting people in police custody for the endangerment of others is making its way… ”, confides this police source. In neighboring countries, the sanctions are more severe. Italians risk a fine of 200 euros, and a sentence of one year imprisonment for non-compliance with the instructions. In Spain, it is a fine of 600 euros and up to six months' imprisonment for those who do not respect confinement.

This is all the more problematic for the police, who do not have any security equipment. “In addition to the general incivism, we are in complete disorganization. We have to go into contact when we don't even have masks. We are changed our schedules, we are given new assignments, but we cannot even work safely. We take lightning and we have no clear instructions, ”laments the policeman. Who already sees some of his colleagues going on sick leave.

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  • Marseille
  • Police
  • Society
  • Containment
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19
  • Fine
  • Sanction