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Faced with the change of trend in the polls that shows the distrust of French citizens towards government action, resilience. Facing the severity of the health situation, resilience. Emmanuel Macron has chosen to name the military operation that joins the fight against the epidemic. He dressed him with the announcement of bonuses to health personnel and future investments in hospitals.
"We are at war and in the face of what lies ahead , that peak of the epidemic that is before us , I have decided to launch the 'Operation Resilience' dedicated to supporting (the Armed Forces) the population and public services to face to the Covid-19 epidemic "said the President of the Republic in Mulhouse, ground zero of the virus in France. Behind, the tarpaulins of the field hospital that the Army has mounted in this city in Eastern France.
The Royal Academy defines 'resilience' as the "ability of a living being to adapt to a disturbing agent or an adverse state or situation". And that's what Macron is at, adapting speech and action. The coronavirus has killed 1,331 French, a figure that does not include the elderly killed in the 7,200 residences where 850,000 people live . The General Directorate of Health now promises "a daily monitoring".
Macron spoke Wednesday night. More than 24 million French people saw him on one of the TV channels that broadcast live, a 77.9% share. A large audience, however, inferior to that of his speech on March 16 in which he declared war on the epidemic. 10 days ago it was 35.3 million French, 96% share.
Then 65% of the French found him convincing, 59% said he told the truth and 82% "gave the measure of severity" although only 37% were calmer, according to an Odoxa poll for 'Le Figaro 'made days later. Another subsequent survey confirmed that perception. 55% trusted the government to deal with the crisis, Ifop measured for 'Journal du Dimanche'.
A week later, public opinion has turned against the Executive in a spectacular way . According to the same institute, Odoxa, 55% of French people think that the government "did not measure the seriousness of the situation", 70% that "does not tell the truth", 75% that "did not make the decisions that fit its time "and 79% who" do not know where it is going ". Slap after slap. Why?
97% believe that there is a shortage of masks in France and two thirds of public opinion blames the government for this. There are no masks, of course. So far the Executive has said that they should only be carried by the infected and the health personnel. Macron had never worn one ... until Wednesday night at one point during his visit to Mulhouse.
The radical change in public opinion has taken place after a week of confinement, but this does not seem to be the reason: 95% believe that this is a good measure, although for 57% it is "difficult to live" . In addition, 87% are in favor of establishing a national curfew, such as the one already in Perpignan or Nice. And 74% ask that jogging be prohibited.
Faced with the state of opinion, resilience, Macron came to say. The perimeter of the so-called military involvement is, at the moment, hazy. The President of the Republic only made one specific announcement: the shipment of two Navy helicopter carriers, one to the Indian Ocean and the other to the Antilles in support of the overseas territories.
Shortly after his speech, a discreet statement from the Chief of the General Staff announced the withdrawal of the French military deployed to Iraq on a training mission. The evacuation of the hundred instructors begins today. France maintains its naval deployment in the region and its contingents in Kuwait and Qatar "in support of the fight against Daesh."
What Macron did in Mulhouse was to join the tribute to those who are in the trenches of the fight against the virus, "doctors, nurses, caregivers ...". "The entire Nation is behind them."
And so that not everything was in words, he announced that he has ordered the Government that "health personnel and mobilized officials" receive an "exceptional premium . "
Then he became solemn: "Before them and the entire nation I promise that at the end of this crisis, there will be a massive plan for investments in hospitals and for the revaluation of their careers. We owe it to them and to the nation. The answer will be profound and durable. "
He also promised that 29,000 tests will be carried out to detect the disease a day , compared to 9,000 that are currently carried out. They will start with healthcare personnel and caregivers of the elderly. The epidemic has already cost five doctors their lives, so this is a key element. In South Korea 15,000 are made daily and Germany, which already makes 160,000 a week, is increasing its capacity.
MASS TRANSFERS OF PATIENTS
In addition to the early detection of virus carriers, the other critical point is the insufficient number of adequate resuscitation units . France has 2,827 patients in resuscitation, which exceeds the capacities of the Eastern hospitals and is reaching the limit in the Paris region.
To unclog the saturated units, a massive transfer of patients, unpublished in peacetime , is planned. Today a high-speed train with about twenty patients has left Strasbourg, accompanied by a medical team of six people per wagon. Destination, the cities of western France, where the peak of the epidemic will not arrive before two weeks.
Another 18 patients were evacuated from eastern France a week ago by the air force and about thirty were transferred to health centers in Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg. It doesn't look like much, but it is a detail of European solidarity. "We are only at the beginning, but we will resist" Macron concluded.
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