The announcement was hardly in doubt after the worsening of the indicators of the Covid-19 health situation since the end of last week.
She fell this Sunday at 9:30 p.m. by the voice of Matignon.
Unsurprisingly, Paris and the inner suburbs are shifting into the maximum alert zone, where Aix-Marseille and Guadeloupe are already located, with measures that will come into force from Tuesday and for a period of fifteen days.
The bars, already forced for a week to lower the curtain from 10 pm, will have the obligation to close completely.
As for the restaurants, they benefit from a slight respite, but with a reinforced health protocol, the details of which will be presented on Monday "by the competent ministers".
"For our restaurants, it's a great relief," reacts hot Didier Chenet, president of Synhorcat, which represents about a third of the profession.
It must be said that in recent days, his union, as well as the Umih (Union of trades in the hotel industry), had scrambled to avoid closing.
Other measures will be taken, in particular on family reunions.
They will be unveiled this Monday morning by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.
"The virus is still there, and it is leaving"
So decided the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, in view of the conclusions made Sunday evening by the High Council of Public Health (HSCP), but also the latest figures from Public Health France published this weekend: 12,565 new contaminations on Sunday, nearly 17,000 Saturday.
And that's not all: concerning universities, and all higher education establishments, the number of students admitted face-to-face at the same time will have to be reduced by half compared to the maximum accommodation capacity.
Teleworking, for its part, is “more recommended than ever” in the areas concerned.
Paris and its surroundings are therefore gloomy, Marseille is offering a little air, since if the bars remain closed, the restaurants will be able to reopen, under the conditions which will be decreed this Monday morning by the government.
But the general feeling is indeed the generalized turn of the screw.
And at the highest point of power, we are hardly optimistic for the future: “The problem is that our fellow citizens have the feeling that the crisis was behind us.
However, it is the opposite, the virus is still there and it is starting again, ”insists Matignon.
Friday, the day after an evening visit to the Pompidou hospital, Jean Castex even slipped in front of a few visitors his concern: “I have seen patients in a serious situation, including young people.
I have seen health personnel very concerned because they have already suffered a first wave… ”So he assumes to take new even more restrictive measures.
"It sometimes does not please, but it is my duty," he says privately.
At the risk of robbing a profession already well tested by the crisis in recent months.
"We managed not to have too many stocks"
It remains to be seen, from now on, how the measures will be received in the coming hours.
"We support these constraints, we ourselves proposed the temperature measurement, the creation of brigades to control compliance with these rules and the closure of businesses that do not respect them", assures Francis Palombi, president of the Confederation of traders. of France (CDF).
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But in the field, the situation is different.
In the 18th arrondissement of Paris, the manager of the Chant des Oliviers in Paris, Albert Eddassouki is waiting to see what the sanitary conditions will be imposed on the establishments before rejoicing.
“If we are told that clients have to put on a mask, agree to take their temperature, etc., then those who were already coming less, will hardly come any more.
And in this case, I would rather be shut down altogether.
"
Like him, rue Ordener, near the town hall of the 18th arrondissement in Paris, many restaurateurs were betting this Sunday on an upcoming closure of their establishments.
And organized themselves not to be taken aback by this decision: in March, the announcement of the sudden closure had forced them to throw away their stocks.
"For a week, as we do not know whether we will remain open or not, we have managed not to have too many stocks and we are operating just in time," explains Quentin Clavier, manager of the North South restaurant.
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Contrary to what happened during the period of confinement, the executive intends to play the concertation card to the full, leaving the hand to local officials.
But if the virus continues to spread, and the rules are poorly applied, Matignon does not rule out toughening up even more.
“The mayor-prefect couple will remain the rule.
But if we see that the knee is soft, then we will make strong decisions ”already warns those around the Prime Minister.
Everyone is warned.