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Good vibes are over. If there ever was. French confidence in their government plummets. Seven points in a week , according to the latest poll published this Sunday (39%). Other surveys measure anger (45%) or opposition to back to school (63%).

The Executive has reacted in anticipation of the announcement of the conditions for the exit from the confinement, scheduled for May 11. The detailed plan will be presented at the National Assembly on Tuesday by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. The debate will end in a global vote. The package of provisions will include the most controversial, the implementation of Stop Covid, an app for monitoring infections .

The chosen format, compared to the one used until now for addresses and press conferences, means the return of politics. The vote is advisory and the majority of the government is overwhelming. But we will see if France is moving towards a solution of consensus and national unity, as proposed by the president, Emmanuel Macron, or if the political shooting returns as before the virus .

Probes

Every Sunday 'Le Journal du Dimanche' publishes a barometer on "Trust in the Government to effectively deal with the coronavirus" by Ifop. In the days following confinement, March 17, the majority were favorable (55%). Then everything has been rolling and rolling. At Easter it hit rock bottom (38%). Macron's fourth speech (April 13) gave him an oxygen balloon (46%) that has lasted a week, 39% today.

The more detailed Ipsos polls set the same trend. 39% trust President Macron ; their action against the crisis satisfies 25% of the French and leaves 41% unsatisfied. The government that deals with day-to-day is less valued. Only 36% trust the Cabinet that suspends crisis management, according to 58% of those surveyed. They are 12 points more than a month before.

The guts of the survey highlight that "the pandemic would accentuate the pre-crisis macronism fracture lines," commented Matthieu Goar in 'Le Monde'. Two thirds of the workers and the unemployed do not "swallow" the executive power. Which translates into extreme opposition, Jean Luc Mélenchon on the left and Marine Le Pen on the right, whose voters are 75% and 79% dissatisfied, respectively .

The response to specific measures has a clear bias . And worrying. The best reception is the closing of borders (84%). Considerable support deserves that the mask be mandatory (75%) and the "mandatory quarantine of all infected in 'ad hoc' sites outside their home" (69%). On the opposite side, "the use of mobile data to control the movement of citizens" is rejected by 41% compared to 37% in favor.

The reaction

Thus, the Executive has decided to change tactics. In lieu of media presentations, Edouard Philippe will address the Assembly on Tuesday afternoon. Two significant nuances. It will be a week ahead of schedule. And the question of the app will not be the subject of its own debate. The Executive swears and perjures that Stop Covid will not geolocate users but that it will notify those who have been close to a carrier through Bluetooth . The set of provisions will be voted on once, which has greatly angered Olivier Faure, socialist leader.

Going to Parliament means the debate returns. Politics. The date meets the deadline set by Macron. Faced with various ministers' attempts at a flexible interpretation, the president settled: "May 11 is May 11." Several French media point out that the issue of deadlines has generated "unprecedented tensions" between the president and his prime minister. In fact, opening the schools on that date was a decision that Macron made against the discretion of his scientific council. They remembered him in a statement released on Saturday.

The Prime Minister must specify the conditions of this rentrée. The scientific council has made its recommendations public: mandatory mask for students and teachers, lunch at the desk instead of in the canteen, table separation, etc. It also proposes that the temperature measurement be done at home and rules out massive tests for teachers and students .

The restart of the school year meets severe resistance in the powerful teachers unions and in public opinion. An Odoxa poll for 'Le Figaro', published on Friday, showed that 63% of French people think it is a bad decision compared to 36%.

63% of respondents believe that Macron has made this decision for financial reasons so that parents can return to work. Only 25% have "bought" the president the justification that it is about preventing the school failure of the children of the most disadvantaged .

The unknowns

Philippe will not fix all the details but the general doctrine that must be implemented by the municipalities. Other unknowns await an answer. The most explosive are masks and tests .

The masks have been a headache for the Executive, who only considered them essential for the sick and health. This attitude was suspected as a consequence of the lack of masks. It seems that now, in addition to schools, they will be compulsory on public transport .

On Saturday, the Minister of Health, Olivier Vérin, confirmed that the objective is to pass the 50,000 daily tests that are now doubled as of May 11. All people with symptoms of the virus should be tested, as well as those who have had any contact with the carrier. On the contrary, the minister opposed to test all workers .

The Prime Minister will not address the reopening of cafes, bars, restaurants and hotels that will be decided in late May. Instead, it will set the tone for cultural and religious gatherings. According to the Scientific Advisory Board, travel abroad "will be strongly discouraged" during the first month after the end of confinement.

The epidemic has caused in France 22,614 deaths , 14,050 in hospitals and 8,546 in nursing homes, according to official sources. To this balance would add the deceased at his home, which in the last month added 900 people although, lacking an autopsy, they cannot be attributed to the virus. All in all, the national statistical institute finds that between March 1 and April 13 they have increased by 25% compared to the previous year.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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