Millions of French people now persona non grata among our Swiss, German and Belgian neighbors!
Since mid-summer, these three countries have placed many French departments or regions in “red” because of a strong spread of the new coronavirus.
Anyone who comes in must go into self-isolation for at least a week and get tested after crossing the border.
But the list varies by country and it can change at any time.
16 departments are, for example, changed to red from the point of view of the Belgians on Friday afternoon.
What despair a number of French local elected officials who call on the government to achieve European harmonization as quickly as possible.
"All this is completely absurd but it is not me who will negotiate, it is up to the government to reach an agreement at European level", judge Dominique Bussereau, president of the departmental council of Charente-Maritime and at the head of the Assembly of departments of France.
Its territory is “red” from the point of view of Germany (since September 9) and Switzerland (since September 14)… but not for Belgium.
To understand where this mess comes from, we have to look at the way our neighbors draw up their list of foreign territories at risk.
One criterion is taken into account first: the incidence rate, that is to say the number of new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants.
In Belgium, the threshold for switching to “red” is set at 100 over the last two weeks.
In Switzerland, it's 60. In Germany, it's only 50 but… in the last seven days only.
"A real imbroglio concerning the criteria"
And beware, it's not all about numbers.
A "manual" analysis follows.
In Germany, for example, diplomats based abroad are reporting information about "the type of epidemic (local or generalized), the screening capacities and the number of tests carried out per capita as well as the measures taken to contain the spread. of the epidemic ”, details the Robert-Koch Institute (RKI).
Finally, let us add that Belgium is the only one to distinguish the departments, the other countries are content to classify by region.
"The impression of confusion is not only an impression, there is a real imbroglio concerning the criteria of each country, which returns a feeling of illegibility and insecurity", recognizes the deputy of the French of the foreign Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade (LREM), whose constituency includes the Benelux in particular.
"It pains me that there is no harmonization of criteria at European level, it's completely silly," laments Dominique Bussereau, whose daughter left for Geneva last Sunday very late.
And for good reason: nine French regions, including New Aquitaine, officially changed to red on the Swiss side at midnight.
Clément Beaune on the front line
The elected officials questioned agree in recognizing the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, the skills and a desire to move the file forward.
But they would like to succeed as soon as possible.
Since August, the former Europe adviser to the head of state has been struggling to find an agreement.
Thursday, on France Inter, he indicated that he hoped to conclude "as early as next week".
“He took the leadership and we encourage him as much as possible.
It is really not terrible that a European state colors another in its corner ”, points out the MEP Renew Fabienne Keller.
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“We are lucky to have a very committed minister who knows the issue very well and the French must be the driving force.
There is natural leadership, but it is urgent to move forward on this subject so as not to give a bad image to our compatriots and to foreigners ”, estimates Olivier Richefou, president of the departmental council of Mayenne.
When his department was classified in red by Belgium in early August, the elected official wrote to the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs to complain about a biased view of reality.
A few days later, he won his case.
But the Pays de la Loire, to which Mayenne belongs, have been classified in red by Switzerland since September 14!
"I sent the message to the region to explain that it is necessary to differentiate the treatment according to the departments", squeaks Olivier Richefou.
"It's mostly based on good faith"
Because the consequences can be significant, especially economic.
Many foreigners may no longer dare to come to these areas classified in red by their country, for fear of having to go into isolation on their return.
“This summer, we were very happy to have the few Germans, Belgians and Swiss that we welcomed.
It is not with this kind of measures that we will achieve an economic recovery, ”points out Dominique Bussereau.
Several elected officials also fear, quite simply, to be "stigmatized" abroad.
. @ CBeaune on the Covid: "That faced with the same subject, the same problem, we do not have the same measures, it is European inefficiency" # le79inter pic.twitter.com/jsXSLSr6ef
- France Inter (@franceinter) September 17, 2020
Fortunately, exceptions are most often granted to cross-border workers, whether they are moving for family reasons or to find their relatives on the other side of the border. "Concretely, in the short term, we are trying to limit the problems," said Clément Beaune. But anyway, "it is mainly based on good faith and there are not many people to control," testifies Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, used to going back and forth between Paris and Belgium.
