Mask under the chin, the young man smiles: "Everyone is there, as in summer, there is no more Covid", he praises.
The small group of five friends of which he is a part passes the gates of the Luxembourg Gardens, in the heart of Paris, crowded with people on this holiday weekend.
Same crowd on the banks of the Seine, at the Trocadéro or in the shopping streets of the Marais.
It must be said that the sun is in the game and that the thermometer displays an 18 ° C worthy of spring, while it is indeed winter and for another month.
A sweetness that prompted the French to step outside.
In Paris, as in most large metropolises, it is in the parks that we mainly rush.
And that sometimes the masks have been dropped.
To recall the health rules and avoid too much relaxation, the authorities have increased the checks this Saturday.
In Lyon, the police tried chugging along to enforce the ban on alcohol consumption on public roads, decreed the day before in the hypercentre.
In Paris, the police headquarters had warned on Friday that it would organize control operations.
4000 civil servants deployed
In all, 4000 civil servants were mobilized.
We are in the middle of the afternoon, in the Grands-Explorateurs garden, a green space in the very chic 6th arrondissement.
A couple seated on a bench, masks in hand, are lectured.
Julien, the young man, explains that he sees for the first time the one who shares his bench: “It's a date
(Editor's note: a date)
.
"
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Non-compliance with the curfew: "We are ready to go out even if it means taking a fine of 135 euros"
He smiles, aside: “Take off the mask, that allows you to control the goods.
Often, to avoid verbalization, I give first dates during which we do jogging.
It is allowed not to wear the mask during sport.
"And he adds, a bit annoyed:" They come to remind us of the rules, but we are a meter from each other and there is no one else around us.
»No fine this time.
Otherwise, it is 135 euros, and up to 3,750 euros in the event of a repeat offense.
A little further on, athletes do pull-ups on the park's approved bodybuilders.
For the most part without a mask, thinking they are in their right.
"Have you ever tried playing sports with a mask?"
It's impossible to breathe, ”explains Kévin.
"It's like people who run or cycle," notes the duty commissioner.
If there are more than two, we call to order: they must wear a mask.
"
No more than six, even outdoors
Another somewhat forgotten rule, it is forbidden to gather more than six in public space.
In total, during the passage of the police officers in the garden of the Grands-Explorateurs, a dozen verbalizations for not wearing the mask were drawn up.
“The objective was to be visible so that Ile-de-France residents do not forget that they must respect health measures,” explains the senior police officer.
Overall people respect.
But the fear is to have a relaxation with the beautiful days which arrive.
However, the epidemic is still on a high plateau and variants threaten.
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The goal this Saturday was also to enforce the curfew times.
"At 6 pm, you must be at home," recalls a police officer.
Otherwise, you must have a certificate.
What many do not have that evening, when the fateful hour has already passed.
During the night from Friday to Saturday, the agents of the Paris police headquarters fined 141 people for lack of certification.
Again, this is a fine of 135 euros, which may be increased to 3,750 euros in the event of a repeat offense.
