A runner in Paris - NICOLAS MESSYASZ / SIPA

  • Individual sports activities will be prohibited between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. in Paris from Wednesday.
  • The decision was made for questions of planning public space.
  • If the measure should not change much in the daily life of regular joggers, it could well discourage occasional runners.

It is not worth that of General de Gaulle, but the call of the government to tighten the containment in order to avoid any loosening - if it has not already taken place - was understood by Anne Hidalgo and followed by an implementation in immediate application. The mayor of Paris and the prefect of police have thus announced the prohibition of any individual sporting activity in Paris between 10h and 19h from Wednesday. Understand: ban on running on this time slot, terminus , all travelers are invited to store their running shoes and their Kalenji set while waiting for the next legal time slot.

It is not a question here of punishing to punish but of putting an end to the telescoping between the people who go to work or the bottom of the races of basic necessity and those who run, we are told in high place. "The more we limit the number of people on the street at the same time, the more we will have an impact on the fact that people do not meet and do not contaminate each other. This reasoning is all the more acceptable since the arrival of spring has considerably increased the density on the Parisian sidewalks. But why not prohibit in this case, as we have read on the networks, walks with others? “In Paris, people are in small apartments with young children. We also don't want to scandalize Parisians with this kind of measure. ”

Physical health, mental health

The runners sacrificed on the altar of the general interest and the mental health of the little Parisians, therefore. Quite ironic, when you know that a number of runners do it precisely so as not to sink into madness. “For us who live in small areas, notes Romain, a seasoned Parisian runner, this is the only escape. The only exit allowed. In the end, I associate it more with a ride than with training. "Olivier Bessy, university professor in sociology in Pau and specialist in the phenomenon of running:" We realize the need to exercise, to be less sedentary. In this daily life where we move less, there is a kind of obligation to move so as not to gain weight, to feel good and to avoid the harmful effects on physical and mental health. Knowing that in the preamble, I have never seen so many people running in the streets. "

A fact that we owe as much to the geographical restriction - the famous radius of one kilometer - as to the appearance of casuals, which we can easily notice according to Guillaume, another regular. “We recognize the people who never run to the outfit in particular: the sweater which is only used to take out the trash and the jogging when we repaint the living room… You see the genre. "The kind not to bother running at hours not possible to get around a day ban, for example? “7-20 p.m. that encroaches on the meal. Maybe people won't want to change their habits, ”observes the sociologist.

Reduce the number of occasional runners, unofficial goal?

For regulars, the question does not arise. Our two runners run more at night, both by preference and for questions of professional schedule. It is to be wondered, therefore, if this ban on running is not intended to discourage athletes of circumstance. "Fruitful hypothesis", recognizes Olivier Bessy, but refuted by our source close to the official channels. “The goal is not to type on such or such category, but that there is less social interaction, and in Paris it is more complicated than elsewhere. We just want to get occasional joggers to do daily outings on more reasonable schedules. "

Last question, that of the peripheral hours to those of the prohibition window. From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., aren't we likely to witness a traffic jam in the streets of Paris? "So to prevent too many people from being outside at the same time, we are going to ask that the daily outings, including jogging, be done in a smaller space?" It will have the opposite effect, right? "Wondered Tuesday afternoon the deputy of the first district of 93, Eric Coquerel. Answer: "We will adapt".

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  • Sport
  • Running
  • Covid 19
  • Coronavirus
  • Containment
  • Paris