Portrait of Emmanuel Macron on July 23 in front of the Elysee Palace.
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Jacques Witt / SIPA
Emmanuel Macron was interviewed this Wednesday evening live from the Elysee Palace by journalists Gilles Bouleau (TF1) and Anne-Sophie Lapix (France 2).
The president announced a curfew from 9 p.m. throughout Ile-de-France and in eight French cities from this Saturday.
It will therefore be a curfew in the Ile-de-France region and eight other metropolises ... After days of waiting and rumors, Emmanuel Macron has decided: France will have a region and eight dead cities from this Saturday, each evening at 9 p.m. at 6 am.
The President went to the front once again to explain to the French the new decisions of the Security Council on Wednesday.
In front of viewers of TF1 and France 2, Emmanuel Macron, who had not spoken on the coronavirus since June 14, announced this new drastic measure.
Ile-de-France and eight metropolises concerned
“The decision we have taken is a curfew in the Ile-de-France region, where the virus is actively circulating and in eight metropolises: Grenoble, Lille, Aix-Marseille, Lyon, Montpellier, Saint-Etienne, Toulouse and Rouen ”, announced Emmanuel Macron.
There will not be a driving ban, but a strict limitation for the right reasons.
We will no longer go to restaurants, to friends' houses, to party… ”Under penalty of a fine and under police control.
In case of violation of this rule, a fine of 135 euros will be applied.
In the event of a repeat offense, it will amount to 1,500 euros.
On the other hand, the inhabitants of these zones on alert will be able to move for medical reasons and to work later than 9 p.m., there will indeed be authorizations.
And public transport will continue to run.
In addition, the inhabitants of these areas will be able to go on vacation during All Saints' Day.
"We have not decided to limit travel between regions," said Emmanuel Macron.
We are not preventing people from going on vacation.
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The curfew will last for at least a month, with the government planning to take stock to see whether to extend the curfew until December 1.
"We must react"
Why such a measure today?
"We must react" to the Covid-19 because "the situation is worrying" with the "second wave" of contamination that has arrived.
"The virus is everywhere in France", underlined the Head of State, also specifying that the caregivers were "very tired" and that there were "no beds in reserve".
"We must stop the spread of the virus first to protect the others, the oldest, vulnerable, precarious, he insisted.
We must protect our health system, our caregivers, ”detailed Emanuel Macron.
For this the strategy is clear: "reduce the private contacts which are the most dangerous", recognized the Head of State.
Indeed, it would be legally impossible to prohibit family reunions.
On the other hand, by imposing a curfew at 9 p.m., no more dinners with friends and other celebrations.
And we know that contaminations are often carried out inside the home.
Moreover, in addition to the curfew, the president ordered the French to limit private meetings to six people maximum.
New aid for the most affected sectors
But this decision, even if it avoids paralyzing all workers - unlike confinement, even localized - will obviously have serious consequences on night-time economic activities: theaters, cinemas, restaurants ... had only a short respite… While the government had decided on October 4 that restaurants could finally remain open, in the maximum alert zones, provided that a reinforced protocol is imposed, these establishments will have to lower the curtain from 9 p.m.
The president assured that partial unemployment at 100% will be reactivated for all these sectors (culture, sport, catering, events).
In addition, additional measures will be put in place in metropolitan areas where the curfew is installed.
A "questionable effectiveness"
“What is called the curfew is a relevant measure, slice the president.
This is what we did in Guyana and it was effective.
“A measure that our German neighbors are also experimenting with.
Indeed, as this article reminds us, in Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt, all establishments (except pharmacies and gas stations) are closed at night between 10 or 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Is this the right answer to the second wave that is sweeping through a large number of French metropolises?
Epidemiologist Catherine Hill is not convinced.
"It is only a measure which may perhaps slow down the propagation a little but in no case stop it," she regretted in this paper.
And that is done in Germany, which has a much lower impact than ours.
To close the bars currently in France, it is useless and it does not weigh heavily in the face of the circulation of the virus during the day.
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Same skepticism on the side of Michèle Legeas, teacher at the School of Advanced Studies in Public Health, interviewed by 20 Minutes in this article.
“There is no study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the curfew for the coronavirus.
The hypothesis, made for example by the Spaniards, is that by keeping people in a “bubble”, with social interactions limited to those very close to them, we reduce the risk of transmission.
(…) The total containment of almost the entire population, it works, we have seen it in France and in other countries, but for the other measures, it is difficult to assess.
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According to the specialist, the Guyanese case cannot be set up as a model either: “the problem is that we cannot establish a certain correlation since the curfew was not the only measure imposed in Guyana to contain the virus.
In France, the government has taken many measures, adding new ones every week.
It is therefore very difficult to try to measure the impact of each of them and to say whether one measure works is more effective than another, taken in isolation.
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