In the middle of bags of confetti and mirror balls, Céline rejoices: “There are a little less customers than in previous years, but not that many.
"The manager of the emblematic Parisian boutique" Au clown de la République ", which specializes in the rental of disguises, has a front row seat to see it:" We feel that the French want to wake up in spite of everything.
"
Contrary to the demand for Halloween, this time nurses or doctors costumes are not popular.
Neither are the masks.
After a year of breathing hard under our anti-Covid protections, no wonder.
To forget this sinister year 2020, it is the trifecta "glitter, disco party, 1930s" which is leading the way.
"Nothing but very classic," remarks Céline.
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Curfew and New Year: tell us about your evening of December 31
As if we wanted normality, for something that is nothing ordinary.
No fireworks or gathering on the Champs-Elysées or the Canebière.
No show or dinner, the halls remain closed.
In theory, there is no question of welcoming last-minute guests in apartments where the furniture and walls have already been pushed aside to dance.
With the Covid that never ends, members of the government have followed one another on television to recall the prohibitions and recommendations.
The French are invited not to meet more than six, the curfew is maintained between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
In some jurisdictions the rules are stricter than others.
In Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), for example, it is impossible to buy alcohol after 4 p.m. on Thursday.
In the Pyrénées-Orientales, following a similar measure, wine merchants lowered the curtain on Wednesday.
On Reunion Island, less affected than the metropolis, bars and restaurants will remain open until 12:30 am.
But revelers will be asked to stay at the table.
No maloya or frenzied rock, it will be forbidden to dance there.
It is also illegal to have a glass of champagne at midnight sharp on the beach, as is the custom.
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We are not joking with instructions: on the evening of December 31, the Minister of the Interior warned: “100,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized exceptionally.
"The threat of a fine of 135 euros or a surprise visit by the police in the middle of New Year's Eve should cool the bambocheurs ... In principle.
Tired of a year under Covid, the French people we met have chosen to party “despite everything”.
"The return of the pajamas parties"
Lisa, Quentin and Louis, crossed with a cigarette in their hands at Gare de Lyon, have planned to extend New Years Eve until the next morning in order to avoid possible checks.
Lisa, just 22 years old, the "daronne" of the band, takes Louis to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends in Belfort.
But in small groups: they will not be more than six.
“Because in this context, if there are rules, why break them?
»Pretends to question the young law student before being spoofed by the boys.
“She speaks well.
"
Still, no big fiesta this year “And yet I love it!
»Sighs the young girl.
So she and her friends will inflate the air mattresses amidst the confetti and streamers.
Quentin (on the left), Lisa and Louis will fall back into childhood… but “with a lot more alcohol than at the time”.
LP / PdP
Louis, too, will spend the night of the 31st to the 1st outside, with the "friends" who provide food and lodging in Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine).
The young Parisian is aware of the health risk.
But he does not want to flog himself because he is going to share an apartment one night or because there will be seven at the table, "barely more than the recommendations".
“It's the return of the pajamas from our childhood but, he hastens to add, with a lot more alcohol than at the time.
"
Responsible for bringing back the liquid provisions, Louis delights in advance of the grand menu: foie gras, tournedos, sweet potatoes.
On the other hand, there will be "no chips or peanuts to share", he assures us, "so that the guests do not all put their hands in the same bowl".
"We will be between fifteen and twenty"
Patrick, him, assumes the double threat of the virus and of a possible control of the police force if suspicious noises crossed the gates of his garden.
“With our group of friends, we usually meet in my garage, blows this salesperson from Goussainville (Val-d'Oise), loading packs of drinks in the parking lot of a hypermarket.
I'm 53 years old, and it's been eighteen years like this.
There is no reason for that to change, let alone after a lousy year.
We will be between fifteen and twenty and we want to have something to celebrate together even more.
"
Even if he is not entirely comfortable, Tristan, 31, is also preparing to break the famous rule of six.
"A friend invites us to his home in the Oise and there should be six couples," explains this young banking executive.
But there is a lot of space and we are committed to paying as much attention as possible to barrier gestures.
Too bad if we have to lose a bit of conviviality.
The context requires adaptation.
The constraints of the curfew reassured Thierry, father of great teenagers.
LP / PdP
Guillaume, 50, is not unhappy to skip the Saint-Sylvestre box and go straight to 2021. Party favors and mother-in-law's tongues are "not his thing".
Wait until midnight, imperatively drink sparkling wine, very little for him.
"The evenings where you have to be happy are always the most missed, aren't they?
He asks in his soft voice.
So Thursday, it will be herbal tea and in bed.
On the other hand, he will join friends the next day, public holiday, for an aperitif.
“A New Year's Eve… during the day!
"
Thierry, too, does not regret the turn of the screw of the Prime Minister who had lifted the curfew for Christmas but not for the New Year. “My children, 16 and 20 years old are the most frustrated.
They are in a way deprived of an exit, ”slips the 49-year-old Savoyard.
Her older teens were invited to feast with friends but the parents canceled.
So at least, the government announcements prevent Thierry from passing for the bogeyman.
It wouldn't have amused him to know his offspring dancing in a crowded, smoky room.
In a very small group ... and offshore!
Small glasses above the mask, Chantal, she, "undergoes her over 80 years", so she will put the dishes in the big ones and will share a "cup" with her sister, with whom she lives.
Normally, they would have gone to Nancy to join another sister.
"Christmas and all occasions have already been stolen by the Covid, it's not funny," she regrets.
But this is really not the time to travel… ”
No question of annihilating months of barrier gestures for Nathalie either.
At the entrance to the pharmacy at Ermont station (Val-d'Oise), where four people are waiting in front of her, the 40-year-old is waiting to do her second holiday antigen test.
"I made one before Christmas, I'm doing one again now," she reassures herself.
Usually we celebrate the New Year with friends.
This time, we will receive one of my brothers and cousins because we have been obliged to do Christmas Eve on December 24 separately.
No one in the family wanted to take the risk of having too much of a table… ”
Guillaume, 20, is preparing to spend "a real evening of forty years."
LP / PdP
“We will only be four but in the house of a friend's grandmother in Vence (Alpes-Maritimes).
We did not do too badly, ”describes Guillaume, with an angelic smile.
This 20-year-old professional dancer is however used to big parties.
Last year for New Year's Eve, he was swinging his hips with more than fifty guests.
For the transition to 2021, it will therefore be a good meal in a beautiful house.
“A real forties evening,” he laughs.
Patricia and Yves have rented a gîte in the Bay of Somme “to get a change of air” one hour and a half from their home.
They have made a commitment to the owner to strictly respect government recommendations.
“We will be four adults in a place planned for ten.
We're going to be so far offshore that we'll have to phone each other to wish each other a Happy New Year!
"