“My mask! »Exclaims a teenager with his head in the air, at the entrance of a shopping street. In La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime), wearing a mask is now compulsory outdoors in the Old Port and in the city center. Jean-François Fountaine, the various left mayor, signed a decree imposing between Wednesday July 22 and Monday August 31 a "nasal and oral protection device" on all people aged 11 and over. All the city's food markets, covered or not, are also concerned. The only exception: the rule does not apply to people with disabilities who have a medical certificate. The city evokes "a less favorable epidemiological context" and the "national observation of a decrease in the systematic adoption of preventive measures" against Covid-19 to justify its measure.
“And that's very good, insist Marie-Noëlle and Didier. We feel safe and like that, we walk quietly! "Originally from Crépy-en-Valois, in the Oise, these two sixties learned this obligation of La Rochelle the day before" on TV "and agree unreservedly:" We avoid places and people who do not wear it. The Oise was one of the first infectious foci in France, each must take care of the other. And then you get used to masks very quickly. "
VIDEO. In La Rochelle, wearing a mask becomes mandatory outdoors
In fact, on this Thursday, July 23, under the arcades of the city center and on the Old Port, the proportion of masked people is much higher than in recent weeks, all ages combined. “It should be like that in all major cities. We even thought that it would be more applied ”, estimate Florence and Laëtitia, who came from Niort (Deux-Sèvres) for the day.
"Better than risking re-containment"
“There are still a lot of people without a mask, remarks Amandine, Place de Verdun, we even wondered with my sister-in-law if it was really compulsory here. "Employee in the restaurant business, this thirty-something wears a mask" at least seven hours a day ". "You get used to it, and that's better than risking re-containment," she says.
Jérémy, Alexis, Florian and Jonathan, they were not aware. These 18-year-old friends, who left Roscoff (Finistère) ten days ago by bike, discovered this obligation to wear a mask the day before when they arrived in the Old Port. “It's difficult with the heat, they blurt out. But we have it in our pockets! We're going to put it on suddenly ... "
Alain, a fifty-something crossed under the Clock Tower, seems more circumspect about the Rochelaise method: "And how am I supposed to know? I arrived yesterday from Agen! I did notice that people wore it more than usual, but many are tourists, maybe they are more sensitive to this issue. "Mask on the nose, this inhabitant of Lot-et-Garonne had not noticed the tiny explanatory panels affixed at the entrance of the sectors concerned:" There is still a big communication problem! Finally, that's a good reason to fill the state coffers. "
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From the municipality of La Rochelle, in this case, which mainly intends to demonstrate pedagogy by the beginning of August. Beyond that, a fine of 38 euros may penalize the absence of a mask or of "any other procedure completely covering the nose and mouth". A sanction reserved "for the most resistant", promises Mayor Jean-François Fountaine.