The parks and gardens of Paris are still closed to the public and the banks of the Seine are now under the control of the police headquarters at aperitif time. And that, from the second day of deconfinement.
The Canal Saint-Martin, taken over by Parisians on Monday at the end of the afternoon, during the first evening of “freedom”, was a bad signal for the government. The evacuation by the police marked the spirits. The punch on the table of Christophe Castaner, the Minister of the Interior, having to help to recard everyone: "Faced with the irresponsibility of certain behaviors, I asked the prefect of police to prohibit the consumption of alcohol along the Saint-Martin canal and on the banks of the river. "
The threat of a fine of 135 euros
The prefectural order was published on Tuesday. "From noon to 7 am, alcohol consumption is prohibited on the banks of the Saint-Martin canal, on the Ourcq and on the banks of the Seine as well as groups of more than ten people, the distance to safety must also be respected, ”recalled this Tuesday afternoon, Commissioner Caroline Ducatillon, of the Directorate of Public Order and Traffic (DOPC), just before embarking on a boat of the river brigade.
It is on the waves, on land and in the air that the police now intend to enforce the rules imposed for the respect of health instructions. Two boats, two drones and mobile patrols were mobilized on Tuesday, according to the police headquarters. The threat: a fine of 135 euros.
Around 5 p.m., when the first bottles were just beginning to be uncorked, between the Sully bridge and the Pont Neuf, the men in uniform, armed with their megaphone, spread the messages of health security.
"I had heard of the ban on alcohol on the canal, but not on the banks," defends Sophie and Mathias, who attacked the fourth bottle of beer. “It's been so long since we last saw each other. Since we can't go on the terrace, we came here with a beer, but without abuse, ”defend Marie, 19, and Isis 18, who came from the 14th century. “We are only two, underline Nicolas and Clara. We do not see what is wrong with quietly drinking a small glass! Not sure if their arguments cause the government to falter ...