More than 10,000 French people are still stranded in the Maghreb, despite the special flights put in place after the airspace closures in mid-March due to the coronavirus, and some worry about their health or their jobs. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced in this context Tuesday the charter of additional flights and boats to speed up returns to France.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the situation Tuesday, May 12
In Morocco, where 150 special flights in one month brought 30,000 people to France, at least 5,000 French people passing through were still waiting at the end of April to be able to return home by weekly special flights, according to the French embassy. A 66-year-old French woman, stabbed by a man suffering from psychiatric disorders, will nevertheless be able to return home by medical flight, according to a diplomatic source in Rabat.
In Tunisia, where 17,000 people were able to take a flight among a hundred special flights, more than 5,000 French people are on the lists of the crisis cell, including 1,000 to 1,500 "on emergency return", said the embassy.
"Be patient"
In Algeria, on the other hand, only a few flights per week were able to be organized after the closure of the airspace on March 17, bringing back 6,099 people, the French embassy said on Friday. was unable to say how many French people were stranded in Algeria. "All those who have no vital reason to return to France urgently are invited to be patient," urged the embassy in a statement, adding that Air France "takes into account [...] according to its possibilities "in cases of" health emergency ".
>> PODCAST - Coronavirus: find all the answers to your questions here
The French authorities continue to set up, with local authorities, special chargeable flights. Jean-Yves Le Drian even mentioned a "doubling of frequencies". "There are still French people, residing in France but spending time in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia during the year. These are actually in difficulty today and we have decided to increase the number of flights from the Air France national companion to allow their return, "he told the National Assembly. "We have also decided to implement boats," he added, adding that one of them was going to join Sète on Tuesday from Tanger Med in Morocco with motorhomes on board.
"We have no visibility"
"It's panic," said Lisa Gaoua, 28, who arrived on March 13 from Lyon for four days, the time to bury her father in Algeria, told AFP. Employed by an agricultural cooperative in Vaucluse, she finds herself on leave without pay: "I have just moved to start a permanent contract, my employer is understanding, but the more time passes the more I am afraid of losing my job". "We have no visibility. We do not know how many people are blocked, and if we can leave before September," said the young woman.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Gatherings, trips, sport: what remains prohibited despite the deconfinement
> Deconfinement: what you need to know about returning to work
> Partial unemployment: the parents' situation clarified
> The French will have to go on vacation near their home
> Deconfinement: what hygiene for self-service bikes, scooters and scooters?
Groups of stranded French people exchange information on social networks. Some flights are scheduled at the last minute and companies continue to offer tickets for unconfirmed flights, with no resumption of commercial flights yet. Borders with non-European countries "will remain closed until further notice," French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Friday.
Tens of thousands of North Africans are also stranded abroad, including 22,000 Moroccans, and several hundred Tunisians, not to mention the thousands of students.