President Macron’s first lockdown turns out to have been a failure. So, now there is to be a second lockdown. Macron’s announcement last night of a new ‘confinement’ on ‘the whole national territory’ until 1 December ‘at a minimum’ is bitter medicine for the French, and for Macron himself. Three difficult weeks are forecast for the health system.
The recent imposition of obligatory mask wearing and evening curfews have evidently not worked to curb the health crisis. The number of French people carrying the coronavirus is now estimated to be one million, health minister Olivier Véran said this morning.
So, back to square one. We shall, until at least the end of November, be permitted to leave our homes only to go to work, to a medical appointment, to assist a loved one, for essential shopping or to take a brief walk. Exceptionally, florists will be allowed to open until Sunday, All Saints Day, when French families put chrysanthemums on the graves of their loved ones.
Bars and restaurants and shops selling non-essential goods will all close but schools will stay open.
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