The first applause resounded Tuesday evening. A little shyly here and there at 7 p.m., then more frankly at 8 p.m. Several watchwords, relayed throughout the day on social networks and supported by a few deputies, have succeeded in bringing out the French who are confined to their windows (or their balconies).
The objective? Thank, remotely and respecting the rules of confinement, the nursing staff who have been working for several weeks now to provide assistance to patients affected by Covid-19. The clamor increased on Wednesday evening, at 8 p.m. this time, when the various calls were coordinated on a common schedule. It resonated even stronger this Thursday evening almost everywhere in France, from Paris to Marseille via Brest, Lille, Strasbourg or Bordeaux.
“Let's applaud our public health services every evening at 8 pm! It was a Marseille teacher who kicked off these tributes on Tuesday, creating a Facebook page which now brings together more than 6,000 Internet users. The relays are now massive. Behind the keyword #onapplaudit, prefectures, town halls, political parties, associations urged the population to make this call a true national tribute.
"It touched me incredibly"
Some personalities have also lent themselves to the game. Like host Nagui and his wife Mélanie Page, who posted on Instagram a short sequence in which we see them, leaning out of their windows, fervently joining in the applause.
"I saw your videos, and it touched me incredibly. Thank you for us. Take care of yourself, ”commented a nurse on her Twitter account. Even the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), an institution bringing together all the hospitals in the capital and its region, reacted: “Thank you. Hands joined for our caregivers and for all of our mobilized personnel. "
With these balconies and windows as new places of collective expression, what will the next calls from the Internet look like? To see the initiatives that have flourished in Italy, confined since March 9, and in Spain, condemned to the same fate since the 15th, it is a safe bet that the French will soon be invited to give voice for improvised concerts or happenings that only the web can imagine. By respecting a watchword: stay at home!
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VIDEO. The sound flashmob of confined Italians