Mask in the street, bars closed at 11 p.m.: the furious Marseillais

In Marseille, the incidence rate - that is to say the number of people tested positive for Covid-19 per 100,000 people - is currently 177 against 33 at the end of July (the current average in France). Admittedly, we test there more than elsewhere, in particular at the IHU Méditerranée which welcomes 500 people per day. But to the many Marseillais who argue that "as here we detect more than elsewhere, these results are logical" , the doctors return a more worrying statistic. A week ago, the city's intensive care unit numbered 16 people. On Tuesday, there were 40. Wednesday, 46. “The increase is continuous, even if it is slow. Mathematically, we go straight to the situation of last March , ” analyzes an infectious disease specialist from the IHU.

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The administrative ax has therefore fallen. On Wednesday evening, bars, restaurants and mini markets closed at 11 p.m. and the mask became mandatory in town. The measures could have been more restrictive, since the Ministry of Health advocated a closure at 8 p.m. and a ban on gatherings of more than ten people.

Screw turn

The mayor of Marseille recognizes that there has been a debate on this question: "I am aware of the embarrassment created by this limit at 11 pm, negotiated with the prefect to allow the Marseillais to go out anyway." And Michèle Rubirola clarified: "But, as a doctor, I think that we must limit the risks in public places which concentrate a large population, often young." Also a doctor, Renaud Muselier, LR president of the region, evokes "an injustice, an absence of meaning because applying semi-confinement is impossible, even if awareness is necessary" .

We're not going to ship the desserts because it's 10:45 pm, that's stupid!

In fact, this turn of the screw imposed by the prefecture is badly lived. Chefs from reputable restaurants do not understand, because they respect barrier gestures and their servers are masked. "We're not going to ship the desserts because it's 10:45 pm, that's stupid!" Bernard Marty, president of the Union of Trades and Hospitality Industries (UMIH), is even more vindictive: “It's easy, we consider that we are doing one and the same job. But a beach restaurant, a bar, a star have nothing to do. We just want Marseille to serve as an example! ”

Same misunderstanding among young people: "It's ridiculous, I don't see what the risk difference is if I'm in a bar from 8 pm to 11 pm or from 11 pm to 2 am" , annoys Camille, a student. Axel adds: "It's just going to force us to look for other 'spots'." The measure is all the more incomprehensible as the beaches remain crowded. "Look, they are towel against towel and no one is wearing the mask, that's rubbish!" , denounces Philippe, a retired marine firefighter.

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Within earshot, Karine, a mother of a family, pointed out that with the reigning heat, fortunately the Marseillais were allowed to enjoy the sea: “There were many more people last week. The Parisians will end up returning. ” On Wednesday evening, a message to the loudspeaker on the beach of the Prophets announced the perimeters of social distancing and the wearing of the mask from Thursday. The general feeling in Marseille is that, if the health situation deteriorated during the summer, it is largely due to an unprecedented tourist influx.