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The French will remain confined until Monday, May 11 . Emmanuel Macron has announced it in a speech to the nation that included an exit plan for the coronavirus. Staggered. From that day on, nurseries, schools and lyceums will reopen. But not the university that will finish the course without face-to-face classes. Bars, cafes, restaurants, performance halls, theaters, museums and summer festivals will remain closed until mid-July.

The President of the Republic added that from that day on, France "will be in a position to test all people with symptoms." Those who test positive should remain confined and receive medical attention. Macron promised that there will be masks for all French people and that the government will present a draft follow-up application to parliament that identifies people in contact with the infected . The "elderly, chronically ill and vulnerable people" will not leave their confinement that Monday, May 11, either.

The President of the Republic made these announcements in a speech from the Elysee Palace that began two minutes after 8 in the afternoon, after applause for that "front line in the fight" against the epidemic.

It is the fourth time that Macron has addressed his compatriots since this crisis began. Except for the third, when he spoke from an army-mounted field hospital in Mulhouse , always from the Elysium. Sitting, framed in short shots, with the flags of France and Europe in the background. Blue suit, black tie. 27 minutes of "performance". Until now with millions of audiences. His second speech, on March 16, in which he announced the confinement from the following noon, reached a record audience of 35 million people.

That was the "we are at war" speech. Today, the one of "calm and courage". A Macron, a theater lover since he graduated from high school, who handled all the records: Dramatic, humble, positive, precise and motivating.

Dramatic at the start, when he evoked "the difficult days" yet to come. "Because we have not yet overcome the epidemic. Humble when he admitted" failures, errors and insufficiencies. " Skillful, he countered the negative" obviously we were not prepared "with overcoming" but we have faced it. "

Positive in the thanks to the first line in the fight against the epidemic (doctors, health ...) to the second in which we have farmers, transporters and journalists who allow life to continue to the whole of the citizens whose discipline to the time to respect confinement praised.

Macron spoke of "strict confinement" but made it clear that there will be neither relaxation nor hardening under the current conditions . That is, you can leave the house for an hour and a kilometer from home to play sports or stretch your legs. And those who live under the same roof will be able to go out together, children included.

The president even tapped mayors who have used their autonomy to leave their restrictive imprint by banning the sale of alcohol or making masks mandatory . "I call on our charges not to add prohibitions so that the rules are the same for everyone."

A new chapter

Then came the Macron manager. Precise and clear with your exit plan that must be finalized by the government in 15 days . May 11, except for unforeseen events, must be the date on which a new chapter begins. May is in France the month of the two bridges, May 1 and 8, the anniversary of victory in World War II. This year they fall on a Friday, so life will start again on a Monday.

For no analyst, the justification for opening schools, colleges and lyceums went unnoticed. Macron spoke of the "inequalities of accommodation and digital access" of modest households that cannot make it easier for their children to follow classes remotely.

Along the same lines that some already see as a social turn in what remains of his mandate , is the announcement of a "new exceptional aid to the most modest families." They should be studied at the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday.

It is significant that the same Monday the socialist leader, Olivier Faure, demanded in an open letter to the president " an exceptional aid of 300 euros per family plus 100 for each child for all beneficiaries of social aid." A concrete and well-focused request that ... also allows the depressed PS to leave anonymity. Did you pick up the Macron glove to keep the left in the consensus?

Polls have found cracks in French confidence in their president. According to Elabe, only 43% trust Macron, when on March 13 59% did . The latest poll, done by ifopy published on Sunday by JDD, lowered the figure to 38%. Figures that do not show the sacred union that the president seeks, although better than their worst numbers during the crisis of the yellow vests. The opposition does not riot but the population does not line up like a battalion either .

Aware of the seriousness of the moment and the progressive wear and tear in the surveys, Macron takes care of the institutional aspect. According to AFP, the president met with the presidents of the two houses over the weekend. That is, that of the Assembly, Richard Ferrand, one of its faithful, and with that of the Senate (and number two in the protocol hierarchy of the V Republic), Gérard Larcher, conservative.

Le Figaro mentions other contacts with his two predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande. Over the weekend, Macron reportedly spoke to regional presidents and some mayors.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe supports him in this strategy. On Friday he promised that if the executive decides to launch a contagion monitoring tool - an application, for example - there will be a debate in Parliament.

Since February 27, the Prime Minister has held four meetings with the heads of parliamentary groups and party leaders. The last one, on April 2, lasted two hours and 45 people participated by videoconference. So they decided to split it into two: spokespersons and leaders will alternate every 15 days. Parliament is hibernated . The government answers questions in control sessions with a handful of deputies in their seats, but legislative work is interrupted.

Only the president of the extreme right, Marine Le Pen, denounces the errors of government management, although without great repercussion. France Insumisa, extreme left, has shown its most institutional side when in the crisis of the yellow vests it was very active . It seems to await the debate of the exit of the confinement, especially if there is a follow-up of contagions via app, to be activated.

Macron did not neglect the touch of international leader that he claims as the representative of France. He anticipated that Schegen's external borders will remain closed "until further orders" and was willing to forgive the debt to African countries.

The motivating Macron appeared at the end: "There will be better days."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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