Paris (AFP)

Prohibited handshakes, limited public gatherings, or even confined candidates: less than two weeks before the first round of municipal elections, the campaign is turned upside down by the spread of the coronavirus, without any postponement being considered for the moment.

"I was on the markets (Sunday) and I said (to people) how much I regretted not being able to shake their hand or kiss them, but I think we must all be responsible and give 'example "said Anne Hidalgo on LCI on Monday. For the outgoing mayor (PS) in Paris, "it's a funny campaign", and the coronavirus crisis has a "very strong impact" on it.

"Obviously shaking hands in the markets, clapping kisses, it is to be avoided; on the other hand it is necessary that the campaigns continue by adapting to the new deal", affirmed the spokesperson of the government Sibeth Ndiaye on France Info.

To cope with the accelerating epidemic, the government announced on Saturday the cancellation of "all the gatherings of more than 5,000 people in confined areas".

A limit that "leaves room for apartment meetings or for public meetings" argued Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, visiting Monday at the Pellegrin hospital in Bordeaux. "We must adapt and respect these instructions, which are basically very simple and very effective in preventing the spread of the virus," he added.

In the departments most affected by the epidemic, the restrictions go even further. Contacted by AFP, the outgoing mayor of Beauvais, Caroline Cayeux (DVD, ex-LR), thus decided not to carry out towing or door-to-door in the next 48 hours, and to cancel meetings scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, as well as a meeting on March 11, "in accordance with the order made by the prefect of the Oise". For the candidate, public health issues "prevail over any other consideration". The campaign still continues on social networks.

- "Not in the perspective of a postponement" -

For still other candidates, it is the personal situation which disturbs the campaign. After a trip of a few days in Veneto in early February, Hélène Burgat, outgoing mayor (DVG, ex-PS) of Mondeville in Lower Normandy, voluntarily confined herself to her home to follow the government's health recommendations.

"When I heard about it, I was a bit dejected at the start, but my running mate took over on the ground," she explained to AFP, adding that, there too, the campaign continued on social media and by phone.

Even if "it's very complicated", Hélène Burgat considers that "we shouldn't dramatize", and that this confinement will not really have any damage on her campaign. The candidate, who has no symptoms, should be able to resume the campaign fully on Wednesday with the end of her confinement.

In large cities, such as Nice, the very function of mayor can be a brake on the pursuit of the campaign.

"I simply estimated this weekend that by being outgoing mayor I had to devote myself (to this crisis)," said the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi (LR) to AFP.

"Last week, even without announcing it, I was already very absent from a certain number of (campaign) meetings which I delegated to some of my running mate," he adds.

Beyond the campaign, it is the ballot itself that could be affected. Marine Le Pen thus expressed on Saturday the "fear" of a lesser mobilization of voters in the municipal elections of March 15 and 22 because of the coronavirus. "Anxiety and fear can cause people to give up going to vote," said the president of the National Gathering.

Yannick Jadot, leader of EELV, however does not imagine a postponement of the poll. "Or really we would have fallen into a catastrophic situation because if we can no longer go to a polling station, we can no longer go to the baker, we can no longer take public transport ...", he said on Monday during a trip north of Nantes.

The government is "at this stage (...) not in the perspective of a postponement of the elections" said Monday morning Sibeth Ndiaye.

© 2020 AFP