From words to deeds. Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Ile-de-France region and of IDF Mobilités, the organizer of Ile-de-France transport, was very early this Wednesday morning in the field to distribute the first masks to users. "As the state does not seem ready to distribute masks, the Region will," promised the former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy in our columns this weekend. The manager therefore did not wait for May 11, the date of deconfinement, where she also planned to equip the two million holders of Navigo Pass.
Mayors maneuvering
This pre-equipment operation, which began at 7:30 a.m. in 130 Ile-de-France stations, including many bus stations, is managed by the mayors and with the support of the prefects.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the numerous elected officials from the communes, of all political colors, were responsible for coming to collect their parcels at the regional headquarters in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis).
“The state tells us that the virus is still circulating too much and that there is a risk of not deconfining. He also tells us that mandatory masks are needed in transport and he doesn't distribute them, laments Valérie Pécresse. So the region with the support of 130 mayors is priming, in a way, the pump so that the people who exercise essential functions in this country are teamed up! "
A kit of 10 paper masks per user
Each rush hour user received a pocket containing 10 surgical masks, the equivalent of a week of back and forth between his home and his workplace. It is accompanied by a manual for its use.
For the record, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced this Tuesday in his major deconfinement plan that the mask would be mandatory in public transport from May 11. He also mentioned the use of telework to unclog the trains in two weeks and asked the floor operators on social distancing on the networks.