In normal times, 4.1 million passengers pass through the Paris metro every day. The RATP begins to take measures so that social distancing remains assured with the mass return of users on May 11. Since April 29, stickers have been stuck on the line 1 platform seats to guarantee a meter gap between passengers waiting for their trains. A first measure which calls for others but which does not reassure the passengers met at the stations of the yellow line.
"In the metro, it's going to be panic," worries a Parisian who continues to use public transport to get to work. On the day of deconfinement, "people will stay tight as usual, they will not pay attention," she feared. A caregiver cross at the Saint-Paul station wants to be more optimistic: "people are careful, they stand up, stay civic," she notes since the start of confinement. "It's something new, we have to reinvent ourselves, so we take it upon ourselves."
"I think it is better to appeal to people's intelligence than to mark them [...] I will pay attention to myself and to others," said Didier, who puts on wearing a mandatory mask to prevent contamination.
On May 11, the RATP forecasts a resumption of 70% of traffic on its network, and even 100% on automatic metro lines.