"Quiet rigor. Edouard Philippe has adopted this maxim which furiously recalls another. Way to hold on to the “crest line”, where the country has been on since May 11: resume its activities while protecting itself from the virus.
"We are there", begins the Prime Minister, this Thursday, May 28 during his new press conference "instructions for use" in Matignon. The last time he said these words, he announced the beginning of the deconfinement. A tempo set by Emmanuel Macron. Not without risks. "We were wondering if we were going to get there," said one of his relatives. At the time of laying "a new milestone", the President of the Republic was, according to those around him, "reasonably optimistic" in the light of "the progress made since May 11".
VIDEO. 100 km, reopening of bars and colleges: 4 things to remember from deconfinement
"The results are good from a health point of view," confirms Edouard Philippe, "his features are much less drawn than in the past weeks. We are where we hoped to be at the end of May. In reality, the executive did not expect so much. "We are a little better than where we hoped to be," he admits.
"The obsession is to avoid relapse"
However, "we cannot run the risk of casualness", insists the head of government, encouraging the French to register on the StopCovid application. No question of storing the sacrosanct "prudence". So does the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The issue is also political, while complaints are increasing against the executive. “The obsession is to avoid relapse. If one does not stumble in the coming weeks, this can tip the reading of the previous months, wants to believe a pillar of the majority. Either opinion will remain stuck on the management of masks, or it will consider that we have managed to get out. At the top of the state, as we know, "nothing would be worse" than a resurgence of the epidemic.
So, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, hammered him, "the green color does not mean that the virus no longer circulates". Green, the map of France is almost entirely decked out. Only the departments of Ile-de-France, Mayotte and Guyana, are colored orange. In short, says the Prime Minister, "freedom is once again the rule and prohibition is the exception".
The restriction on travel 100 km as the crow flies around his home will be lifted from June 2. On this date, high schools, but also cafes, bars and restaurants will reopen in the “green” departments. Like campsites, leisure parks, swimming pools, sports halls and gymnasiums. The “orange” zones will have to wait until the revoyure clause of June 22. However, the parks and gardens will be reopened on Saturday. A question mark remains on shopping centers.
Close discussions on bars and restaurants
The arbitrations were made until the last moment, during a meeting at the Elysée Palace which stretched until around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening, and a Defense and Security Council on Thursday morning. One point gave rise to a particularly close discussion. The Ministers of Economy and Labor, Bruno Le Maire and Muriel Pénicaud, ardently defended the reopening of bars and restaurants in the orange zone, the first highlighting the weight of the sector in Ile-de-France, the second the efforts of professionals to prepare for it. They encountered the caution of Monsieur Déconfinement, Jean Castex and Olivier Véran. Emmanuel Macron decided on a compromise: reopening but only terraces. “The bottom line is that it reopens. It's complicated, everyone is cautious about Sioux, ”blows a supporter of the recovery.
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However, we are reminded at the Elysée Palace, "the success of deconfinement must not mask the realities that we are going to have to face in the economic and social sector". The Prime Minister said it, the economic and social difficulties to come are dizzying. Also, he argues, the deconfinement "must also sound the mobilization of all". Because "a new front" is opening, that of the battle against "a historic recession".
