Police officers patrol Sarcelles, in the north of Paris, on February 3, 2021 (Photo illustration).

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ALAIN JOCARD / AFP

The exceptional will still last: Parliament is preparing to give the green light on Tuesday to an extension of the state of health emergency until June 1, but many parliamentarians are dragging their feet, even in the majority.

Created in March 2020 in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic, the state of health emergency is the basis in particular of the national curfew at 6 p.m.

This “toolbox” regime also allows measures to restrict or prohibit movement, gatherings or the opening of establishments, on all or part of the territory, as well as possibly partial or complete confinements of the population.

"Not a failure, not a gadget, defends the government"

The executive will "not hesitate to take (its) responsibilities" in the event of "sharp and rapid deterioration" of health indicators, says Prime Minister Jean Castex.

Particularly in the face of variants, "successive extensions are a necessity, not a failure, not a gimmick", insisted Secretary of State Adrien Taquet before the deputies.

The health emergency was in effect from March 23 to July 10, 2020, then reinstated on October 17.

Parliament extended it until February 16, hence the need for this new vote.

An extension under fire from critics

All the political groups in the Assembly without a majority have announced a vote against this new three and a half month extension.

From the field, parliamentarians relay the weariness of the population and the fed up with restaurateurs, ski resorts or students, even threats of disobedience.

Beyond that, both right and left denounce a "trivialization" of this particular regime.

“The government must take measures, of course, but it must not drag us into tunnels where Parliament cannot meet and assess public action,” argues LR MP Philippe Gosselin.

The Senate dominated by the right had given its agreement, at first reading, for an extension until May 3 ... and provided for a vote by Parliament after a month in the event of reconfinement, to no avail.

The fear of an addiction….

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In unison with associations for the defense of public freedoms, the communist Stéphane Peu is "worried about the government's habituation to the regime derogating from the rule of law", in which "France will have found itself most of its time. since 2015 ”with the post-terrorist state of emergency.

At the forefront, the rebellious deputies, who defended until the final reading a motion of prior rejection, speak out against "a form of dictatorship, the concentration of full powers in the hands of a man", Emmanuel Macron, and, in the words of François Ruffin, "an anonymous Defense Council" which takes strategic decisions.

“We have been restraining democracy for a year.

It is no longer possible that one, Emmanuel Macron, decides for everyone, ”also believes the boss of the PS Olivier Faure.

The Minister of Health Olivier Véran assures that he understands “weariness”, his colleague Minister Delegate Brigitte Bourguignon “fully shares” it.

But Olivier Véran considers the deadline of June 1 "consistent with regard to the dynamics of the epidemic", the time that "the vaccination campaign fully produces its effects".

Procrastination even within the majority

The minister also insists that only "measures necessary and proportionate to the health disaster" are taken.

And the reporter Jean-Pierre Pont (LREM) to judge that those voting against the extension "oppose the fight against this virus and the protection of the population against this virus" - a "blackmail to responsibility" pinned to the left like right.

"If we discuss, we are accused of being demagogues or health traitors to the Nation," denounces Jean-Christophe Lagarde (UDI).

Even within the majority, some nuances are heard.

The MoDem group calls for "transparency in the answers and the figures".

"We cannot give the government a blank check every three or four months without discussing the substance of this health strategy," said Olivier Becht, boss of the allied group Agir, which does not see France "going through the whole year. 2021 only with measures of containment, deconfinement, re-containment or curfew ”.

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  • Confinement

  • Coronavirus

  • Emergency state

  • Parliament