Comment: Oh, those naughty, unruly French!
The authorities in France are NOT happy about what just took place across La France this sunny March 15th...
Translated by Sott.net
Canal Saint Martin, Paris, 15 March 2020, during a 'lockdown'
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe's appeal on Saturday evening was clear: in addition to closing down "non-essential" public places, the Prime Minister called on French men and women to assume their responsibilities, and to stop going out without good reason. "We must all together show more discipline in the application of these measures. We must avoid gathering as much as possible, and limit friendly and family gatherings," he explained.
A message that fell on deaf ears?
This Sunday, on social networks, we saw a lot of pictures of crowded open-air public places, such as the Aligre market in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, full of passers-by. The keyword #Irresponsible has developed to denounce this behaviour - at the same time as it was used to denounce the lack of firm action by the government until Saturday night.
Yet the measures are clear: outdoors and indoors, people must not gather in large numbers. The good weather on Sunday didn't help, and Parisian parks were also crowded, as these photos posted on Twitter in the afternoon by users show. These users were also reproached for going out... because otherwise, they would not have been able to take these pictures.
On the quays of the Canal Saint-Martin, the situation is even more ubuesque, with passers-by clustered on the banks of the canal, in very close proximity to one another. Same observation a few streets higher up, in the 19th arrondissement, near the Parc de la Villette. Tourist places, such as the Montmartre Hill or the pedestrian bank roads, were still very busy.
And elsewhere in France, what is the situation?
It seems to depend on the cities: in Grenoble, for example, although all the parks have been closed by the city council, there are still green spaces without gates, and these too are well filled, noted Virginie Salanson, a journalist for France Bleu.
Conversely, in Perpignan, our reporter Maxence Lambrecq was able to see that the streets of the city were deserted - and under a sky grayer than the rest of the country.
French men and women who continue to go out despite the bans and the dangers of the coronavirus epidemic seem to have a strong desire to gather by the water's edge and in green spaces: in Bordeaux, the Garonne quays, a few dozen metres from the city centre, are full of passers-by, reported two journalists based in the south-western city. Some have even organised a "carnival" in the streets to defy basic safety rules.
The movement seems to have started as early as Saturday evening, when spontaneous gatherings, more massive than usual, were reported in several French cities. In Paris in the Bastille district, where some bars said they would only close their doors at 6am (despite a closure that came into effect at midnight), or in Dunkirk where carnival-goers took to the streets.
Also on social networks, many personalities also called their "followers" to be cautious, and warned that the next step could be a total confinement, and this time mandatory. For the time being, social distancing remains the only way to prevent the coronavirus epidemic from spreading too quickly.
Comment: You cannot 'contain' a coronavirus because coronaviruses spread throughout the entire population every single year, and - like this one - cause very few deaths.
Maybe this joie de vivre is an indication that the French won't obey as most other populations appear to be doing. But it could just be that the hysteria hasn't quite set in there yet...