This fall's containment is unlike that of spring.
Deserted from March 17, the streets of central Paris where we meet this Friday, the first day of re-containment, a number of passers-by, cyclists and also motorists, this time appear to be much more lively.
The difference is such that Martin Hirsch, director of the AP-HP (Assistance publique- Hôpitaux de Paris), alerted on Twitter: “The crossing of Paris this morning looked more like an ordinary day than a first day of confinement. .
Warning.
A lot is being played out at the moment if we want to avoid the overflow ”.
"They only stopped motorists"
A 25-year-old engineer looking for a job, Kevin shares this observation: “There are fewer people than a normal day but a lot more people outside than during the lockdown in March.
"
Left home by bike at 10 a.m., this Parisian, a tenant of a studio in the 20th arrondissement, crossed the districts of Buttes-Chaumont (19th), Montmartre (18th), Pigalle (9th), place de Clichy (9th) ), Etoile (8th) before joining the quays of the Seine (7th) at the stroke of noon.
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“It's so nice to cycle in Paris on a day of confinement!
», He exclaims.
Without a derogatory travel certificate - "In any case, the exemption is limited to 1 km," he recalls - the young man cleared the police checkpoint at Place de l'Etoile: "They didn't were stopping motorists.
"
A lunch break to go "breathe in the Tuileries"
Exception that proves the rule?
Among the dozen of people questioned, Kevin is the only one who is not able to present his certificate, most of them unsheathing their cell phones to show the precious sesame.
Like Erwan, IT director who works in the office of his 140 square meter apartment "overlooking the Ritz!"
"
This father takes advantage of the lunch break to “go and breathe in the Tuileries, it's essential.
Of course, there are people in the garden and rue de Rivoli.
But people are disciplined: all are masked and they keep their distance.
I also read a certain gravity in the looks, ”he confides.
Paris (1st), October 30, 2020. Erwan, IT director, shows his certificate.
LP / Philippe Baverel
Manager of the Georges Gay store Les fleurs, at 110, rue Saint-Honoré (1 st), a stone's throw from Les Halles, Catherine Margueritte delivers the same diagnosis: “Between the assassinations and the reconfinement, I feel that the customers are sad, they are worried.
So they buy flowers to brighten up the apartments.
"Benefiting from the exemption granted to florists for the weekend of All Saints' Day, the shopkeeper sold about ten bouquets this Friday morning.
Paris (1er), October 30, 2020. Catherine Margueritte is the manager of Les Fleurs de Georges Gay store, at 110, rue Saint-Honoré.
LP / Philippe Baverel
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Whether it is to afford a few roses, or even the last gladioli of the season, to buy cigarettes at the tobacconist, to walk the dog, to go shopping in the supermarket, to run on the banks of the Seine , to recover their computer at the office… Parisians always have a good reason for leaving their homes!
It is also true that the modalities of the autumn confinement are less drastic than those in force in the spring, if only because this time, schools, colleges and high schools must remain open.
Paris (19th), October 30, 2020. A few joggers and walkers in the Buttes-Chaumont park, but no crowds.
LP / Benoit Hasse
Some walkers at the Buttes-Chaumont
Joggers, a few retirees, rare couples with or without children and dog owners… But no crowds.
For the first day of reconfinement, Parisians did not rush into the green spaces of the capital.
Last spring, despite requests from the town hall, the 490 parks and gardens in Paris had all been closed.
From the first to the last day of confinement… and even beyond.
This time they are all open.
At the start of the afternoon, in the Buttes-Chaumont park (one of the largest in the capital), the alleys are almost deserted.
Easy to respect barrier gestures and the rules of distancing.
Less than a hundred walkers are spread over the 25 hectares of the park.
And a high proportion keep the mask on the face even in the middle of sparse aisles.
"This is proof that it was useless to close the parks the first time," notes Mathilde, a septuagenarian resident of the district, who comes every day to Buttes-Chaumont.
“During the first confinement, I was doing the same walk.
But on the other side of the wall, in rue Botzaris, outside the park, ”recalls the retiree.
“It's a shame they didn't open the first time.
Especially since the weather was very nice, ”continues Hamida, who takes the air with her three children at the bottom of the park.
“In the spring, we stayed on the town hall square,” she explains.
The two women have their travel certificates which allow them to walk for an hour.
This is not the case for Sébastien and Catherine, who came on foot from Ménilmontant for a walk that will undoubtedly last a little over an hour.
"But I have my cell phone," says Catherine.
“And I downloaded Tous anti-covid,” adds her husband.
Last March, the two inhabitants of the 20th district, parents of three teenagers, had left to confine themselves in the Vercors.
"Because we had to be able to have access to outdoor spaces", they explain, delighted to be able, this time, to take advantage of Parisian parks… little frequented.
"We are not overwhelmed," acknowledges Afif, one of the employees of the Chalet des gaufres who obtained from the town hall, this Friday morning, confirmation that the take-out point of sale located at the foot of the Buttes-Chaumont rock could stay open.
“We'll see if we work.
But if there aren't more people than that, from Monday, maybe we'll only open in the afternoon, ”he concludes while waiting for customers.
