To the wall.
Often used, sometimes overused, the expression sums up more than ever the situation in which Emmanuel Macron addresses a new Health Defense Council, this Wednesday, March 17 in the morning.
With variants that have gotten out of hand and resuscitation services saturated in some territories, incidence rates still on the rise, and a vaccination campaign that is taking the lead due to the temporary - but sudden - stop of the AstraZeneca, the executive continues the bad news for this sad anniversary of the first confinement linked to the Covid-19 epidemic.
Worse, by admitting Monday evening that "the master of time is the virus", the Head of State sent a message in the form of a confession: he suffers.
“This sentence, after all that the French have just experienced for twelve months, it's terrible.
We give an impression of helplessness, ”sighs an advisor at the heart of the crisis system, speaking of“ visual navigation ”.
When another evokes a "sequence suffered because of our European neighbors".
The session of questions to the government, this Tuesday afternoon in the Assembly, made the cruel demonstration of this.
With a Jean Castex summoned to explain himself by the oppositions: "I still do not understand your vaccine strategy", attacked the socialist Valérie Rabault.
"We have suffered a lack of systematic anticipation," relaunched MP Thibault Bazin (LR).
What the Prime Minister has for the first time admitted to be facing "a form of third wave" epidemic, while reciting the usual elements of language on "respect for barrier gestures".
VIDEO. Covid-19: France has entered "a form of third wave", says Castex
In short, when the decision to reconfine Ile-de-France on weekends - or even more?
- stirs all minds, and on the eve of the long-awaited decision of the European Medicines Agency on the maintenance of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the executive does not really know where to turn.
With the dreaded effect of seeing the bond of trust broken between the French and this vaccine around which the government has largely built its mass vaccination campaign.
Containment all week in Ile-de-France?
This is also the content of the breakfast which was held Tuesday morning in Matignon with the executives of the majority: "The Prime Minister said that he had nothing which could encourage us not to do confidence in this vaccine.
But from the moment when all our neighbors had suspended it, it was complicated not to do the same, ”summarizes a participant, hoping that this does not alter the objective of 10 million vaccinated by the end. April maintained by Jean Castex.
During the meeting, the President of the Assembly Richard Ferrand also suggested that in the long term, if people were reluctant to take AstraZeneca, the health authorities could open up its administration to new categories of people. with the idea of not wasting doses.
"Yes, yes, we will look", would have replied the head of government, according to a participant.
“False good idea!
already retorts a specialist in the subject.
This vaccine, like Pfizer and Moderna, was developed for patients who may have severe forms, in other words the elderly.
They protect, but there is no indication at this stage that they are slowing the progression of the virus.
So wanting to vaccinate younger people would not immediately change the embolism of the hospital system.
"
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Others suggest that confinement of Ile-de-France extended over the whole week, and not only at weekends, would be the solution.
“There is a significant probability that the region will be contained.
Perhaps confinement on weekdays, with a curfew at 8 p.m. ”, confides a government heavyweight.
When others, at the top of the state, swear “not at all consider this hypothesis”.
Liar poker game?
“It's a lead, but Macron also knows that he is handling nitroglycerin there.
"
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Faced with so many uncertainties, the Head of State therefore did as usual: he consults. Tuesday, at the end of the afternoon, it is a delegation of the scientific council that he received at the Elysee Palace, before continuing by a videoconference with resuscitators to assess the state of tension in hospitals. What to feed his reflection and the choices that should be announced by Thursday evening, during a press conference with Jean Castex (who, in the meantime, will also consult the presidents of the parliamentary groups) and Olivier Véran. “A year ago we were flabbergasted, now we are tired. If important decisions are taken, we must be able to apply them, ”comments, weary, a very close confidant of the president. Another, more bluntly: “It sucks”.