While Germany had been hailed by its good management of the health crisis during the first wave of spring, the country is facing an "exponential growth" in infections, which prompted Angela Merkel to announce new restrictions.

The Chancellor had however tried in October to toughen the measures, but had encountered the refusal of certain regions. 

DECRYPTION

Faced with the "exponential growth" of coronavirus infections a few days before Christmas, Germany is tightening the screw.

On Sunday, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a series of new restrictions that will remain in effect until January 10, bringing her country into partial containment, including the closure of "non-essential" businesses and schools.

A hard blow for the inhabitants of a country which had been a good European student during the first wave of spring, but which is now paying for its delay in decisions, as well as a certain relaxation on the side of the population , while the extreme right is fueling mistrust of health rules in certain regions. 

The resistance of certain Länder

Angela Merkel had, however, warned in October about the worsening health situation.

The Chancellor, recalls Hélène Kohl, correspondent for Europe 1 in Germany, was "in favor from mid-October of a much stricter confinement. But Germany is a federal country, it cannot decide on its own, and must consult the presidents of the 16 Länder ".

However, Angela Merkel at that time encountered the refusal of the least affected regions.

For example the President of Saxony who explained on television last night that EVERYONE underestimated the virus.

As a reminder, in mid October he denounced a Chancellor "hysterical" in the face of the epidemic.

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- Hélène Kohl (@helkohl) December 10, 2020

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A delay in decisions that the country pays dearly.

For Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, the German situation is "the very example of any delay which is extremely detrimental to the health situation, but also to life. social and economic ".

Thus, he recalls, "the Irish, who began to confine quite strictly on October 21, have completely regained control over the epidemic". 

A relaxation of the population

In addition, have we noted a relaxation of precautions on the side of the inhabitants of the Rhine?

Maybe, answers Hélène Kohl.

"In reality, the Germans have taken advantage of all the freedom that has been given to them," she adds, taking the example of the small arrangements with the rules adopted by many restaurants since November 1, and the announcement of the closure of restaurants, bars, cultural institutions and sports grounds.

"We have seen alternative offers flourish everywhere, with a restaurant which opens its windows and becomes a mulled wine stand", says the correspondent of Europe 1. In Berlin, for example, "in certain streets, we meet with almost all the restaurants open and people flocking to drink mulled wine, taking off the mask ".

Far-right bastions sensitive to conspiracy

Finally, as in many countries, Germany has to deal with a part of its population reluctant to comply with instructions.

"There is this movement of recalcitrant who do not believe in the dangerousness of the virus, which is well established in Germany", explains Hélène Kohl.

"Of course, that corresponds to 5-10% of the population, but in certain regions in the east of the country, it is a movement which is carried by the extreme right, and the regions where we vote most in the 'far right are the ones that get out of hand. "

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Indeed, these far-right strongholds are among the most affected areas, such as Saxony, where the incidence rate is the highest in Germany.

The same Land had placed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the lead in 2017 (27%), and gave the far-right party its best federal score.

Among the German parties, the AfD is the only one to have displayed its skepticism, even its opposition to the restrictions.

More than one in two AfD voters (56%) consider the restrictive measures excessive, according to a recent Forsa poll.