The government has chosen to preserve Christmas and its family reunions but to be stricter for New Years Eve.
In fact, the figures are not good: "The dynamics of the epidemic has stopped declining, Prime Minister Jean Castex explained on Thursday.
We will not meet the target of 5,000 new cases per day as of December 15th.
We are currently at 11,000 cases per day.
New measures must be taken to allow everyone to enjoy the holidays, if we then want to avoid a third confinement.
"
However, from December 15, travel between regions will be authorized again, with however a curfew from 8 p.m., but which will not apply on the night of December 24 to 25.
Is this strategy likely to start the epidemic on the rise again?
" I do not believe that.
Of course, population movements can worsen the circulation of the virus.
But if we had prevented these family reunifications at Christmas, it would have had serious repercussions on people's morale.
However, that too is serious for health, ”said Dr. Serge Smadja, secretary general of SOS Médecins.
VIDEO. Christmas, New Year, curfew at 8 p.m. What to remember from Castex announcements
Will it be necessary, then, to be tested, before the meal of the 24th in the evening, to be sure not to contaminate the elderly or fragile parents?
Not such a good idea, according to the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, who specifies that “it would give a false impression of security.
It is not an immunity totem.
"
Five days of social diet, new advice
The best, to protect others, is therefore not to exceed the gauge of six people at the table and, new advice from the government: "If you must find a vulnerable person, limit social interactions, five days before".
On the other hand, no fiesta to be planned for the evening of the 31st.
" It's normal.
The festive gatherings of young people that evening, in large quantities, really threaten to start the virus again.
There is real logic in being very firm that evening, ”said Professor Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, head of the infectious disease department at CHU Mondor (AP / HP, Créteil).
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For psychiatrist Michel Lejoyeux, “when the situation is difficult, psychologically we have an even more need to keep time marks, need to reconnect with rituals like the end of year celebrations.
And it is difficult to do now because we are in a permanent negotiation between the principle of pleasure and that of reality, especially when the memories of Christmas and New Years Eve before the health crisis come to the surface.
"
"I haven't already been able to celebrate my baccalaureate"
“It's all the more complicated to integrate since it's not just a green light or a government red light but a dark orange light.
The messages sent are complex, ”adds the professor, head of the psychiatry and addictology department at Bichat hospital in Paris.
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Imane, barely of age, says she is “disgusted”.
“I knew that I could put aside the big party between friends but the curfew imposed at 8 pm even prevents me from wishing a few of them a Happy New Year.
However, we could not wait to say hello to 2020. We will not be able to sleep at one or the other because there will be their family, confined, already there.
I was not able to celebrate my baccalaureate, nor forge links with my comrades at the university with the distance courses, it becomes really very burdensome ”, concedes the student in the first year of geography and planning in Paris.