Paris (AFP)

In the "line of sight" of the authorities in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, those over 60 do not want to be "infantilized" and even less "placarded", many expressing their fears of an intergenerational divide.

"There is a protective way of calling people who are at greater risk to protect themselves with more vigilance, and a divisive way: it is unfortunately the second that has been chosen. It is a psychological and human fault. dramatic, "laments psychiatrist Serge Tisseron.

In recent weeks, the tone of the speeches has been the same, in line with the progression of the epidemic.

On August 27, Prime Minister Jean Castex suggested avoiding "grandpa and grandma going to pick up the children from school".

On September 10, Pr Jean-François Delfraissy, who chairs the Scientific Council, indicated that "two populations are on our line of sight", people over 60 who are "the target of this virus" with fragile populations , and 20-40 year olds, pointed out for their attitude a little too relaxed.

Thursday, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran said "to measure the sacrifices made" by the elderly after "long months of confinement", asking them nevertheless to "redouble all (their) efforts. Including the most difficult one, to further reduce the number of people you see each day ”.

Joël, a dashing 60-year-old from the Ile-de-France region, emeritus table tennis player, respects health precautions and enforces them in the table tennis club he chairs.

But there is one point on which he will not compromise: "continue to look after my grandchildren".

Armelle Le Bigot-Macaux, president of the School of European Grandparents, denounces for her part "the amalgamation, infantilization, placardization and contempt for what we represent in society".

- "Scapegoat strategy" -

"What makes me jump is the amalgamation +60 years and more + whereas it crosses two generations", she adds, also ulcerated by a certain double speech.

"Nobody took care of us this summer where we fulfilled our role in babysitting our grandchildren, in cheering them up. It suited everyone and nobody said anything because we were very useful" , she points out.

"We made this generation of the oldest a category that had to be protected at all costs, which had to be isolated from the rest of the population. We split," analyzes the clinical psychologist Béatrice Copper-Royer, author of the book "Grands -parents, the strong link "(Albin Michel, 2018).

This specialist mentions the situation in retirement homes where the distance from loved ones can cause depression and "accelerate cognitive deterioration. People will not die of Covid but of grief".

"Pointing to a category of the population is extremely dangerous, especially in the age of social networks. They have popularized a culture of public denunciation and the exacerbation of tensions between groups," said Serge Tisseron.

“In the era of the media lynching call, pointing out a category as being more problematic for the health of the community, evokes the strategy of the scapegoat. In a context where there will be more unemployment among young people, it is is on the contrary a call for intergenerational solidarity which should be the rule, ”he adds.

The worst for Béatrice Copper-Royer would be to erect "two worlds with a border that we would like more and more watertight. While it feels crazy to mix between generations, it maintains good mental health for young people as well. than the older ones ".

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