Tuesday morning, no less than 18 ministers attended the Defense Council, in addition to Emmanuel Macron and Jean Castex.
This videoconference meeting brought together as many participants as a traditional Council of Ministers.
How long gone are the days of restricted crisis units!
At the end of the exchange, everyone was instructed to… be silent.
Objective: to leave the media space to Olivier Véran.
And this, although it was also question during the morning of the security of the evening of December 31, the logistics of the vaccination campaign or the situation in the Overseas.
Why this choice?
“There are health emergency messages to be sent to the country,” decrypts an adviser.
It was at 20 Hours of France 2 that the Minister of Health sounded the alarm this Tuesday evening.
“We have been on a plateau
(Editor's note: epidemic)
for fifteen days with 15,000 contaminations per day, he explained.
It is not increasing.
But we are too high.
“Especially since the situation is very variable between the east and west of the country.
Nearly twenty departments are of particular concern to the government.
The list is already known: it goes from the Ardennes to the Alpes-Maritimes via the Allier, the Jura or the Vosges.
A sort of last warning to the populations concerned ...
From January 2, these territories could switch to a hardened curfew, with entry into force from 6 p.m.
Or two hours before the usual time.
The decision will be taken the day before, based on the latest health indicators.
“As the French have been massively tested during the holidays, we are in the dark about the meaning of the numbers.
The government prefers to wait a few days for the situation to stabilize and be more understandable, ”explains a government adviser.
3.5 million tests have been carried out in recent days.
A record in Europe, said Olivier Véran.
This restriction regime will last "as long as it takes", he insisted.
The hypothesis of the reopening of theaters is moving away
On the other hand, there is no question of local reconfigurations in the immediate future, as the mayors of Metz and Nancy had nevertheless demanded.
"This track is not envisaged at the beginning of January, but if the situation were to deteriorate sharply, the government would assume its responsibilities," says one in the executive, where all tracks are open.
Moreover, a little earlier in the day, the scientific council published a new opinion, alerting to the risk of "uncontrolled resumption of the epidemic", against the backdrop of the arrival of a wave of winter cold.
As for schools, the start of the school year remains set for January 4, the Defense Council decided.
As for the "review clause" of January 7 for museums, theaters and performance halls, the government ensures that it remains in force.
But the hypothesis of a reopening of these establishments seems to be moving away a little more each day.
What the Minister of Health recognized mezzo voce: "It seems hardly conceivable to lift all the constraints," he said.
Or how to prepare people's minds for bad news.