Coronavirus: French people abroad suffer the health crisis

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More than 60,000 French people out of the 130,000 stranded abroad have already been repatriated according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But still 70,000 French people could not return.

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A plane from Lima, Peru landed in Paris on Monday. On board were 200 French people as well as people of other nationalities who were also stranded in Peru. A flight that all these passengers have won with great wrestling. Among them, Ohanna Mace. This French woman went to Peru for professional reason. She quickly understood that she had to leave when Lima started to act against the coronavirus .

" I landed in this hotel in Lima so Monday evening. The people at the hotel told me that I was in quarantine with them for 15 days. I told them: "Absolutely not, there is a flight tomorrow". And they replied that there was no more theft, that it was over. We ended up locked in the hotel while waiting for news from the embassy, ​​from France, ”says Ohanna Mace at first.

Much remains to be done. We know the difficult situation, sometimes even agonizing, in which thousands of French nationals still await a solution to return to the national territory.
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“ In the end, the return trip was under negotiation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Peruvian government. On the plane, the stewards explained to us that in the end, and that is why we took off from the military base, it is that the Peruvian government did not give in and that finally where they found an opening for takeoff from the Boeing was through the military base in Lima. The plane was full, ”recalls Ohanna Mace.

According to Ohanna Mace, the Peruvian government refused to allow the French government to let them go. And Paris finally had to go through the Peruvian army to take off the plane from the military base in Lima. Which, according to Ohanna Mace, does not bode well for the 1,800 French who remain in the country.

“ There are French women who are still stranded in Cuzco and Arequipa. They had to take the plane but they couldn't, since at the last moment, the Peruvian government refused to allow the buses to run. They put them on the buses in Cuzco and after three hours, they got them off, ”she explains.

Quarantine is still much stricter and having experienced it is very complicated. There is violence against foreigners, not physical for the moment, but the French are fired from hotels. It's the race to find accommodation. When you are in the accommodation, me for example in my hotel, while the Peruvians can still go out to be able to go shopping, it was very complicated. So, this is quite worrying for the French who remain because there is no exit solution for the moment.

French people stuck in Peru: "it's quite worrying for the French who stay because there is no exit solution for the moment"

French people still stranded abroad

Romain Estivals, tries to find him a plane since March 12 to return from the Philippines where he had gone to tour. With his partner, he finds himself stuck on the island of Cebu and begins to get discouraged.

“ We, our fifth booked flight has just been canceled. But also the fifth flight billed. Like a lot of French people, we are in huge debt. We find ourselves in a financial situation that is really starting to be serious. There was a repatriation flight visibly organized by the State on which it was necessary to register, something we did. But there is only one plane planned and they only want to transport 60-80 people visibly. We were not allowed to take it, ”says Toulousain Romain Estivals.

After calling the embassy, ​​he was notified that no return flights were planned. “ It's very complicated and they are overwhelmed by the situation. The Germans have already returned home. The state organized several Lufthansa planes to repatriate them. Most of them are French people who stay. It becomes catastrophic for many people here. There are quite a few people either who are victims of the closure of hotels (...) They find themselves sleeping outside on the sidewalks, or in front of airport halls. We only have one meal a day, because we don't know yet how long we are there, hoping that our hotel won't kick us out at the end of the week, but it's very bad gone, ”he worries.

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• French from abroad

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