"Please, the Laotian authorities ban gatherings of more than ten people, keep your distance," said an agent at the French embassy. The result: several hundred people in compact clusters crowd the doors of the small Wattay international airport in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is 3 p.m. this Thursday, April 2 and it is 37 ° C. The plane chartered by the Quai d'Orsay, impatiently awaited by the French stranded on the spot for more than a week, is scheduled for 7:45 pm. No more air links, the last plane has reached Bangkok, the main "hub" regional, March 28. All land borders have been sealed off. So, this repatriation flight, it should not be missed, it is a bit of a lifeline for all those whose anxiety begins to gain ...
Read also: Coronavirus: for France, the puzzle of repatriations soon resolved
The confinement ended up being decreed on March 30, plunging the laotian capital, provincial in appearance, into torpor, with its temples and avenues lined with frangipani trees.
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