There are very few planes on the horizon, in the clear sky of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
Since the start of the health crisis, the number of passengers has been divided by ten at the second largest European airport, going from 200,000 to 20,000 travelers per day on average.
In the early hours of the morning, only a scattered crowd roams the silent terminals.
But there is still a place where a small queue forms, this Thursday.
It is in front of the test platform set up by Civil Protection at terminal 2E.
Previously, passengers - not having a negative Covid test and coming from a country classified as red - who wanted to set foot on French soil already had to take a PCR sample there, but they left the airport without knowing the result.
Now, Civil Protection rescuers use antigenic tests which deliver an on-site result, 95% reliable on the most contagious people, in fifteen to thirty minutes.
"The objective is to protect the national territory", summarizes Sophie Wolfermann, prefect delegate for the safety and security of airport platforms.
1 positive case out of 600 tests
This Wednesday, the number of countries classified as red rose from 38 to 58. Travelers from these states can not leave the airport without having a test saying they are not contaminated.
For a dozen other sources, where the virus is particularly rife, it is mandatory to have carried out this test before boarding.
It is up to the airlines to enforce this obligation.
Only passengers coming from the European Union and some Nordic and Asian countries are exempt from testing.
The day before, of the 3,000 passengers who disembarked, 600 had to perform an antigen test with Civil Protection rescuers and a positive case was detected.
This person received a mask, gel and strict isolation instructions, "exactly as is done in laboratories", summarizes the prefect.
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This Thursday morning, Helen, coming from the island of Saint-Barthélemy, was surprised to discover that she had to perform this test on arrival.
“However, I went to a laboratory before leaving but we were told that it was not necessary for the metropolis, recalls this resident of Yvelines.
It irritated me a little to have to wait here, when I had wanted to do everything right at the start.
But hey ... The labs are overwhelmed, we need to train more laboratory assistants.
"
"A real campaign laboratory"
Virginie Bidault de l'Isle, Civil Protection project manager, says that she and her team had to set up in record time "a real field laboratory", open from 5 am to 10 pm: "We deployed a madness agility!
For the moment, the rescuers manage to transmit the results in about thirty minutes.
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Cyril, who returns from Argentina with his pregnant wife and his 21-month-old son, finds it "normal" to have to perform this test before reuniting with his in-laws.
He is patiently patient: “We said to ourselves that we would go faster here than in a laboratory in Buenos Aires.
"
