For Christmas, it will be necessary to bet on the six.
The Prime Minister thus set the ideal limit Thursday, December 3 of a table of adults.
In line with the presidential address of October 14, where the President of the Republic was already urging to apply this gauge in the private sphere.
At the beginning of next week, the High Council of Public Health will specify other precautionary recommendations "which it will be highly desirable to respect", in the words of Jean Castex.
For a successful Christmas at the emotional and health level, we will have to bring out our guide to good practices.
Why this figure?
This gauge has no scientific basis but symbolizes a threshold to limit interactions.
Most other European countries have also set a maximum number of adults.
Spain and Italy are on similar bases to France, Germany and Switzerland allow up to ten guests, Belgium asks to stay in its home and Great Britain encourages not to exceed meetings between three foci.
VIDEO. Christmas: Jean Castex recommends no more than 6 adults at the table
Even before the last government details, the French anticipated these unprecedented constraints.
According to an Ifop poll for Odero unveiled in our columns, they will be 5 on average ahead of the turkey instead of 8.5 last year.
And what about the children?
Until what age are we considered to be a child in “covid” terms?
Experts from the Directorate General of Health are looking into this issue.
Germany defined her at 14.
Is it useful to take a test before Christmas Eve?
“Performing an RT-PCR test before going to see fragile people is a good idea,” explains Doctor Serge Smadja, general secretary of SOS Médecins.
But obviously, this should not be falsely reassuring and then clearing customs from making barrier gestures.
It should be seen as an additional means of protection.
“Same story with his colleague Margot Bayart.
"It is not an all-risk insurance because you can be contaminated in the days following the test, observes the vice-president of the union of general practitioners.
But it at least makes it possible to detect a certain number of asymptomatic patients.
I have my 90 year old mother at home.
I asked my nephew and my niece to get tested before I came.
"
Antigenic tests are more accessible, with a faster result.
But less reliable.
The most extremists plan to opt for a preventive septic tank from the start of the school holidays ...
How to establish your seating plan?
Considering the limited number of guests, their arrangement does not seem very complicated.
Yet it is essential.
“Putting people who live together all year round knowing how the virus is transmitted when we talk to each other, it's still better than being in front of grandpa and grandma, slips the doctor Smadja.
Afterwards, you have to find the right balance between the sanitary requirement and the festive spirit.
Grandpa and grandma in the kitchen, it's not Christmas anymore!
»If space permits, we can imagine one or more tables with as much space as possible.
“After all, notes sociologist Serge Guérin, we are used to seeing young and old separated in marriages.
This is how it should be taken.
It is not a shelving.
"
On the meal itself, it is advisable to avoid the dishes where everyone draws and let the master or the hostess provide the service.
"It's still anecdotal," smiles Dr. Mayart.
Let's say it's a plus.
"
What behavior to adopt in family?
The ideal attitude can be summed up in two words: barrier gestures.
“We really have to insist on this,” breathes Dr. Mayart.
We did an empirical study by questioning our colleagues on the modes of contamination in their most severely affected patients and it is the family meal that comes out first.
It is of course necessary to wash the hands, to respect the distance, to ventilate well even if it is necessary to cover oneself and especially to wear the mask.
We take it off for lunch and put it back on for a chat.
Because we have eaten, drunk, we speak louder, we sputter more and it is the droplets that are contaminating.
"
The mask is undoubtedly the most restrictive precaution in a family universe that is wrongly considered as a protective bubble.
"We remain in the compromise between the appropriate measure and the excess of caution which would lose all its cachet in the evening", summarizes Dr. Smadja.
Thus, pushing to the disinfection of gifts could well spoil the party ...
Is it better to exceed the gauge or multiply the meals?
Of course, some will be tempted to transgress government recommendations by meeting up with 25 to share the log.
But on a health plan, adding meals in small groups around December 25 is less risky than increasing the number of invitations for the single D-day. “There was no scientific publication on the subject but it still seems more logical. to do it in several installments, ”says Dr. Smadja.
“The number is an element that increases the danger exponentially,” adds Dr. Mayart.
To put it simply, four times six is a lot less dangerous than twenty-four all at once.
"
Will we be controlled?
A recommendation is not law.
It is a call for common sense and good citizenship for everyone.
In France, the police and gendarmerie do not have the right to interrupt a private party except, for example, in the event of nighttime noise.
No risk, therefore, of seeing the police tumble into the living room to count the guests.
Unlike England, which in the fall set up fines of 110 euros up to 3,500 euros for repeat offenders.
And where the Independent Sage, an advisory group of scientists, even encourages Christmas outdoors.
Newsletter - Most of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le Parisien
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
On the other hand, we must not forget the curfew, in effect from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. except on December 24 and 31.
Otherwise, the gifts for an extended evening will amount to 135 euros ...