Reconfinement in France: Emmanuel Macron on the verge of losing his bet
French President Emmanuel Macron, during the Franco-Spanish summit in Montauban, March 15, 2021. (Photo illustration) REUTERS - POOL
Text by: Valérie Gas Follow
2 min
A year after the first confinement which had put France on hold for two months, Emmanuel Macron is again faced with a difficult choice: that of reconfiguring two regions particularly under pressure, Ile-de-France and Hauts- de-France, while he had made the bet to avoid the reconfinement.
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"
The mouse hole has narrowed in Île-de-France
".
This is how a majority official expressed his pessimism a few days ago about the health situation.
And so
Emmanuel Macron's bet to try at all costs to avoid re-containment
, to hold out until the vaccination and the return of spring make it possible to release the pressure.
But in a few days the Paris region and its 12 million inhabitants have turned into the red, causing a minister to fear that we are entering "
in the area of sorting patients in the hospital
", which France had avoided until now. 'here.
Emmanuel Macron himself had to initiate the turn at the beginning of the week by acknowledging his powerlessness in the face of a virus that has become "
the master of time
" and conceding that it would "
undoubtedly be necessary to make new decisions in the days to come
".
That day has come.
The announcements will be made by Prime Minister Jean Castex.
But the decision will be taken by Emmanuel Macron who, on Wednesday March 17, told caregivers of the Poissy-Saint-Germain-en-Laye hospital that he went to meet: "
We will make the decisions that we must take
" .
As a way of conceding that he no longer had a choice.
► To read also: France: one year after the first confinement, Macron defends his choices in the face of Covid-19
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France
French politics
Emmanuel Macron
Coronavirus
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