While the Paris area is on vacation, the authorities feared departures and non-compliance with confinement. 160,000 police and gendarmes were deployed on the roads and in the stations. But against all expectations, the French respected the instructions rather well on Saturday.
Two to three times fewer motorists in Île-de-France
Authorities have reported extremely low traffic on the roads, particularly in Île-de-France, where motorists were two to three times less numerous than the previous day.
Same situation in the stations, confirmed to Europe 1 Fabienne Buccio, the prefect of Gironde where an order prohibiting tourist rentals was taken. "Several mayors, particularly in the Arcachon basin, had alerted me," she explains, referring to the movement of people to the region.
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"Say things so that people don't play on doubt"
"I think we had to clearly say things so that people do not play on doubt," said the prefect. "There, it is clearly prohibited. It is clear for people who were hesitant, who wanted to leave and confine themselves elsewhere by being in a more pleasant vacation spot," she continues. "It is also clear for rental agencies, and it allows the police to act if they see people moving in: they can then summon these people as well as the owners who would have rented during the confinement period. "
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Wednesday morning, the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner had warned the French as the spring holidays approached. "We don't go on vacation during the confinement period," he warned, while France is going through its third week of confinement to deal with the coronavirus.
On the roads and in the stations, the reinforced controls will continue until the beginning of next week in order to dissuade the possible delayed departures.
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