Go from
“everyone at home”
to
“everyone on the terrace”
.
Go see a movie at the cinema instead of slouching in front of a Netflix series.
Share a dinner with friends, finish with the dishes delivered in trays.
Visiting a museum or strolling in a shop rather than wandering on the internet… The new step in reducing the health protocol, Wednesday, promises to reconnect with a French art of living.
Even under a cloudy sky.
To discover
Deconfinement: what will change this Wednesday for the French
To read also: "A Spritz with friends", "a coffee with my husband": these French people who are eager to return to the terrace
On the terrace, the rainy atmosphere risks drowning the pastis.
Not to mention the 9pm curfew which will mark the end of the festivities early on… But neither the rain nor the constrained schedules seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the revelers, after months of “sleep work” without going through the hut. "Aperitif".
In the rain if necessary
"It is complete!"
, smiles Alain Fontaine, at the head of the Parisian restaurant Le Mesturet and president of the French association of master restaurateurs.
“Cancellations were expected due to bad weather but this was not the case. People are ready to come equipped with parkas and hats if necessary to find themselves on the terrace. ”
Tuesday morning, like many establishments across the country, he was installing awnings to protect his first customers.
“For this reunion, the important thing will not be to operate the cash drawer but to be together, to share again. It's a symbol! ”
, believes Alain Fontaine, full of hope to end once and for all with the "stop and go" closures.
From the announcement of the reopening of the terraces, the platform The Fork (formerly La Fourchette) saw the number of its reservations jump. And the phenomenon is growing day by day: the number of reservations recorded for this Wednesday is already
"three times higher than the day before the reopening of last year, which took place on June 2,"
said Damien Rodière. , boss of The Fork France, on BFMTV. After more than six months of closure, 80% of French people intend to go to bars and restaurants at least as often as before the crisis (including 24% even more frequently), according to a recent Harris poll for Coca Cola . Among young people, 45% even intend to go there even more often…
“And not just to drink Coke!
"Laughs Sophie, a management student, who has already planned
" five or six extended aperitifs "
these next evenings.
To read also: Jacques-Olivier Martin: "Deconfining, dancing and then ... disillusioning"
At meal delivery platforms, we do not look too shabby.
“We are delighted with the reopening of the terraces, like everyone else!
exclaims Damien Stéffan, spokesperson for Deliveroo France.
Our estimate is that the 20,000 restaurants affiliated with Deliveroo will continue with us.
As for the French, they will keep in the habit of ordering from time to time to watch a match with the family… ”
At the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris, the facade is adorned with rainbows and large multicolored flowers.
“It seemed important to us to reopen on such a joyful theme
,” explains Valérie Just, sales director.
It will do us good after 107 days of closure! We took the opportunity to do some embellishment work, and we are now quite familiar with issues of health protocol. We reopen with the 3J, a commercial event with promotions on entry-of-season products. I expect to see a lot of people when it opens at 10 am! ”
There will already be Élodie, Parisian in her thirties.
“I spotted a little summer dress in a window
, enthuses the young woman.
I'm also aiming for a nice, brightly colored swimsuit, to finally get out of the gloom! ”
Read also: Relief, stress and aches: at the La Terrasse des Métiers brewery, the last preparations before the reopening
Before "the jersey test", you may have to go to the beautician. After months without a gym, many feel
“completely numb”
and dream of Lomi-Lomi massages or shea butter wraps
.
At the Jardin de la Beauté, in the small town of Livarot, in Normandy,
“the next few days are almost full
,” says Karine Roussel, one of the employees.
The requests for body massages come in cascade, but we prefer waxing. Do you realize that some clients have been waiting for more than a month and a half… ”
In lack of activities, the French flock to the outings.
Some cinemas offer morning screenings, starting at 8 am, to meet demand.
The Vincennes Zoo has registered 6,000 online reservations for visits as soon as it reopens.
The public will also make a comeback in sports arenas: a maximum of 800 spectators will be allowed indoors, against 1,000 outdoors.
On Wednesday, the Lyon tennis tournament will be the first marker of a return to a semblance of life before in the world of sport, with 450 spectators expected at the Parc de la Tête d'Or.
And in two weeks, tennis fans will be able to walk the spans of Roland-Garros.
Read also: Reopening of bars and restaurants: the answers to your questions
This beginning of the end of the restrictions allows above all to
"restore perspectives"
, notes Professor Nicolas Franck *, psychiatrist and head of pole at the Le Vinatier hospital near Lyon.
“The opening of the terraces is a strong symbol because it is a major place of socialization.
It's a bit like life being reborn.
It relieves everyone.
Just like the opening of places of culture which allow nourishment of the spirit, he
underlines.
But no one forgets that the epidemic continues and that we are not done with the restrictive measures.
There remains a latent concern.
The tensions that have accumulated over the past fourteen months will not disappear suddenly. ”
* Covid-19 and psychological distress,
by Nicolas Franck, Éditions Odile Jacob.