“In truth, I'm disappointed, I expected to see more people,” says Thomas, a 19-year-old Parisian, bottle in hand and mask… in his pocket. It is 2:30 in the night from Friday August 14 to Saturday August 15 in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, a seaside resort at the gates of Royan, in Charente-Maritime.
Portable speakers spit out decibels and laughter. Nearly 200 young people, most of them minors, have just taken over the town's central square and the beach. Everyone intends to take advantage of the summer and "party", far from the sanitary instructions imposed by the Covid-19 which punctuated their spring. “Here we meet. We drink shots, we smoke cigarettes, assures Adam, the somewhat tipsy twenties. We have the mask in our pocket, but can you imagine flirting with a girl with it? How do I kiss? "
In a few weeks, Saint-Palais has become the epicenter of festive nights in the Royan region. The Rancho, a nightclub and local institution, has still not reopened. The last bar closes at 2 a.m. and involuntarily kicks off these improvised parties on the seafront.
"Everyone exchanges the bottles"
“The spot has been gaining momentum all summer, confirms Alexandre, 24 years old. I have been here since early July to work. Evenings, I did a lot. It can go up to 300 people on weekends and it aggregates people who would not normally go to a nightclub. "" Social distancing, there's none. I may have seen a mask over ten evenings, he observes. And everyone exchanges bottles and drinks from the neck… ”
However, they should not be the only ones to be stigmatized, notes Alexandre. “There were at least 200 people in front of a pole dance show at 11 pm in this same square. The people were crowded together. Very few of them wore a mask, and they were not young people ”, launches this student.
Arrived from Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) a week ago, Cassandre and Margaut, 17, are discussing on the beach. The mask, they always swear to have it in their pocket. “But everyone takes it off here. It would be weird if we put it on, it's less user-friendly, ”they say.
Same observation for Thomas, the young Parisian and his friend Antoine: “We are used to putting him in Paris. It is also to protect the family. But people our age are unaware of the risks. And then it's boring to have a drink! Another argument summed up by these revelers busy dancing as much as chatting: "Shame". No one here will come decked out in a fabric or paper mask, a matter of style or pride.
The decree prohibiting gatherings without effect
To limit the risks as much as the overflows, Claude Baudin, the mayor, issued on August 1 a decree prohibiting gatherings of more than 20 people between midnight and 6 a.m. “It took two days, laughs the server of an establishment located on the seafront. And then they started again as before! "
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The city council is worried about it: “Don't look for a mask, there isn't one. Here and in the region, we have always been in the green zone since confinement. We were lucky, but I'm afraid that will change. These young people are on vacation, we understand them, but it seems inevitable to me with such enthusiasm ”. This elected official refuses, however, to impose the wearing of a mask in his municipality: “It is up to the State to take its responsibilities. It's too easy to get rid of mayors! "