Coronavirus: executive extends containment

No question of further fueling a false suspense. Friday afternoon, at the end of a Council of Ministers, Édouard Philippe announced the extension of the confinement period. "We are still only at the beginning of the epidemic wave," said the Prime Minister, from the Élysée Palace. It has submerged the Great East, it arrives in Île-de-France and in Hauts-de-France, this is why I am announcing today the renewal of the confinement period of two additional weeks starting next Tuesday , that is until Wednesday April 15. "

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These measures must "break the epidemic wave" and "allow hospitals to cope with the influx of severe cases caused by Covid-19" . The head of government, who will speak on Saturday on the health strategy alongside his Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, said that this period could be further extended depending on the evolution of the situation. Édouard Philippe greeted "the vast majority of French people" who respect confinement and thanked them "for their civility, their patience and their solidarity" .

The Prime Minister therefore addressed the French twice on Friday. An omnipresence which illustrates a resumption in hand of the governmental communication. "We must say the uncertainties, do not hide the difficulties, assume when we do not have all the answers," comments Matignon. According to our information, Édouard Philippe also recalled a few guidelines and principles on Friday morning during a videoconference with his ministers.

The head of government did not go so far as to distribute the good and the bad points, but each, in front of his camera, had well in mind the unhappy words, the hiccups, the errors of communication which have blurred the official word since beginning of the health crisis. Aware of these "blunders" , Edouard Philippe took advantage of this "information point" to express a "clarification on the rules of communication", according to Matignon. The head of government asked for "discipline" , "exemplarity" and "solidarity" from his troops.

"He wants a well-organized crisis com, where everyone plays his role with elements well calibrated upstream," said his entourage. "It was clearly a crop," said a ministerial adviser who attended the discussions. "A rant," said another. Clearly, the word must be more "coherent" and not leave room for "improvisation" .

Stop the hiccups

At the top of the state, to stop the hiccups, the question of restricting government expression to a small number of ministers has been around for a while. Édouard Philippe has finally brushed aside the possibility, but wants the floor to be limited, "imprint of gravity" , that it "respects ministerial fields" . "The fact that the Minister of Sports communicates on the radio on the possibility of organizing a Tour de France behind closed doors, for example, does not seem to be a priority," said a participant. From now on, only the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, is authorized to speak on health issues. The head of government asked his troops to be careful not to send contradictory messages, to be careful not to "make announcements that were not arbitrated beforehand", "not to say aloud what is a matter of personal reflection ”. In short, the ba-ba, but a useful reminder, according to several ministers, after the confusion of the last days.

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"He didn't quote anyone, but it was pretty clear. We understood who it was aimed at, ” comments the entourage of a member of the government, who is thinking, for example, of Minister Didier Guillaume's call to “ join the great army of agriculture ” in full confinement or even to government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye under fire from critics for talking about "non-working" teachers. "All these hiccups, it does not help us , " plague a parliamentarian. And in an attempt to better coordinate official speech, the Prime Minister will now bring his entire government together by videoconference every Monday and Friday.