Icon: enlarge
Quartier Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 6th arrondissement of Paris: incomprehension given the ordered closure
Photo: Karine Pierre / imago images
The figures have been speaking clearly for days, but politicians asked for a respite.
When France's Minister of Health Olivier Véran gave his weekly press conference last Thursday, all the indicators relevant to the infection rate were red: the number of infected people in the greater Paris area was 263 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, among 60 to 69 year olds there were 133 Cases per 100,000 residents.
The utilization of intensive care beds in the hospitals was 34 percent.
Véran still announced that he would want to monitor the situation in the next three days.
If this does not improve, the minister said, new measures would be announced on Monday.
There was nothing to suggest that anything could actually change for the better over the weekend, how could it?
Scientists and doctors warned after Véran's announcement that three valuable days would be lost.
But it seemed difficult for the politicians in Paris to proclaim the inevitable and to admit that this autumn will be far more reminiscent of last spring than they can imagine.
President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jean Castex had hoped to open a new chapter with the announcement of the $ 100 billion reconstruction plan when they returned from summer vacation.
They even dared to mention a new edition of the controversial pension reform - until the new infected numbers caught up with them.
Icon: enlarge
Is apparently powerless against the corona virus: Emmanuel Macron
Photo: Ludovic Marin / dpa
The decision to declare the maximum alarm state for the French capital and the neighboring towns in its periphery was made on Sunday.
Late on Monday morning, the prefect of police in the city, the prefect of the region and the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo announced the accompanying measures.
The government doesn't always want to be solely responsible for everything
It is part of Prime Minister Castex's new strategy to involve mayors and local forces in the decision-making process.
The government doesn't always want to be to blame for everything.
This also explains the delay of three days - time that was needed for the coordination between the government and the city.
The new catalog of measures for the restaurants, for example, is said to have only been written last night.
As expected, the closing of all bars was announced on Monday morning;
Restaurants are allowed to remain open under tightened security precautions.
However, as has already been established in Germany, they will have to keep lists of the names and telephone numbers of their guests.
In addition, the number of guests at a table is limited to six people; nothing may be consumed or drunk while standing, either inside or outside.
15 days of strict measures
All trade fairs and congresses were also banned, sports halls and swimming pools are also being closed, and fitness clubs have already been closed.
The sale and consumption of alcohol on the street is banned, as are larger celebrations, whether student or family celebrations.
Visits to old people's homes may only take place by appointment and are limited to two people;
Meetings of more than ten people are prohibited.
The number of students attending face-to-face classes at universities is also to be reduced by 50 percent.
All measures apply from Tuesday of this week and for the time being only for 15 days.
Then the situation should be re-evaluated.
Icon: enlarge
A picture from the near past: A crowded café terrace in Paris
Photo: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP
Many measures are aimed at the nightlife in the capital, which has been very lively in recent weeks.
Because while masks have been compulsory in the entire urban area for weeks, in the evening, young people in particular crowded together in the bars and on the café terraces, without masks, for hours.
With one reason: As soon as you sit and consume, the mask requirement is no longer applicable.
One of the contradictions in French pandemic policy from the start was that the very strict, eight-week shutdown in spring was followed by a relatively relaxed summer.
Apparently they want to correct that now.
"The whole thing is a tragedy"
The restaurateurs reacted differently to the new proposals: restaurant owners were apparently able to win a stage at the last moment and prevent the minimum distance of 1.50 meters between the individual tables originally proposed by the government.
It is now only one meter.
For many of them, this decides their existence - space is a rare commodity in Paris, whether in apartments, on sidewalks or in bars.
A majority of bar and café owners, on the other hand, expressed incomprehension in view of the ordered closure.
Why, they ask, are theaters, cinemas and museums allowed to stay open? Why are many Parisians crowded together on the metro every day?
Why couldn't stricter regulations have been imposed on cafes and bars too?
"The whole thing is a tragedy," said the president of the bar, café and brasserie association GNI in the morning on the radio station "France Inter".
"The new measures will result in an economic catastrophe."
Many of his colleagues are already on the brink of extinction, he knows numerous restaurateurs who are now taking sedatives or antidepressants.
He is very worried about her.
Mayor Hidalgo, on the other hand, thanked the government for the good cooperation, the city of Paris is on her side in the fight against the pandemic.
The task now is to protect the most fragile and vulnerable in French society so that life can go on afterwards.
Icon: The mirror
