France: in Lille, a reconfinement that does not look like the first
Audio 03:29
Lille, the fourth largest agglomeration in France, has been re-defined like the rest of the country since October 30.
Marie Casadebaig / RFI
Text by: Marie Casadebaig Follow
8 min
In France, the Minister of the Interior is asking the prefects to strengthen controls on compliance with the second confinement, introduced since October 30.
After a period of adaptation, Gérald Darmanin calls for more firmness, in particular on the reasons for the displacement of the French.
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Unlike the confinement last spring, the French have the right to go to their workplace and take their children to school.
This new phase of containment is therefore less strict than the first.
A flexibility which sometimes gives the impression of a confinement which is not really one.
In Lille, the fourth largest agglomeration in France, passers-by questioned in the street spontaneously answer that this new confinement has not changed anything in their daily life.
“
There are just as many people on the roads and in the streets overall
,” explains one of them.
"
For me, there is no confinement there,
" adds a second.
Almost normal life
?
Because they work, take their children to school or go to high school, these Lille residents would almost forget that their social life is well cut, as if this fact had already been integrated after eight months of health crisis.
"
It is true that for social life, it is not the same
, says a resident.
We stop seeing friends, we go to work directly, without going through the restaurant or bars
”.
The same goes for adolescents.
“
We cannot do what we want after school
”, testifies a high school student.
“
On weekends, when we come home, we can do nothing more,
continues another
.
Before, I used to go to the gym, we couldn't anymore… But it's especially on weekends that there is a big difference,
adds another student.
The rest of the time, in the streets, it's the same as in normal times
”.
Companies that don't necessarily play the game
A feeling that contrasts with some data.
Since October 31, the distances traveled by car in the Lille metropolitan area have halved.
You just have to go to the Grand'Place, in the heart of the city, to notice an unusual calm.
“
You come across me, sitting in the sun, outside, on a Monday…
, laughs Boris, having lunch on the steps of the Opera with two colleagues.
It's the only day of the week I leave my house.
And the rest of the time, I telecommute
”.
For Pauline, an employee in the same company, the situation is however different.
His boss does not allow him to telecommute.
A decision that the young woman does not "
understand
".
"
If it was really necessary to avoid all contact, I would be at home
," she laments.
This is one of the big differences with the first containment.
A large part of the companies continue their economic activity.
And this time, some are reluctant to resort to telecommuting.
The Minister of Labor, Élisabeth Borne, even threatens sanctions against those who do not play the game.
Strategies to bypass containment
A good number of Lille share this difficulty in complying, again, to the discipline of confinement.
Strategies are being put in place.
A young man thus explains forming a “
social bubble
” with his neighbor.
They meet on weekends to share aperitifs, which they did not do last spring.
“
We are always careful, he
argues,
but it's true that we try to see each other a little more.
Losing social ties is not a solution either
”.
Éva, seen at the station, shares the same feeling.
The young woman is waiting for a train for Paris, where she is going to visit her grandfather, in poor health.
She would probably not have made this decision during the first confinement, but the situation is more flexible today.
“
I feel more legitimate than before,
” she says.
As everyone puts on a mask, and precautions are taken, we can afford to continue to act normally.
".
In the working-class district of Wazemmes, unusually quiet, Véronique and Kelly are discussing after having crossed paths by chance.
The two fifty-year-olds, who are sorely lacking in conviviality, also admit to allowing themselves some small freedoms.
Kelly thus confides to having gone the day before in Belgium, accompanied by a friend.
But she claims to have "
calculated the risks
".
“
My worst nightmare is not to catch it, but to give it to someone else,
” she explains.
As for her friend Véronique, she allows herself small relaxation “
with familiar people.
», But without exaggerating.
Freedoms, in confinement that does not look like the first.
In Lille as elsewhere, the French are trying to adapt as best they can to a way of life that could well fit in over time.
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