France enters another general lockdown in the face of third wave of Covid

Prime Minister Jean Castex announced at a press conference that thn the departments concerned will be closed from non-essential stores. Bars, restaurants, museums and monuments will continue to be closed, as they have been for nearly five months. In addition to Paris and the four other departments of the Île-de-France metropolitan region, The new measures concern the five departments of Hautes de France, in the far north of the country, two of Normandy and Alpes-Maritimes, to the south. Unlike the two previous confinements, it will be possible to walk in the open air without time limitation, by means of a receipt, within ten kilometers of the house. Interregional transfers will not be authorized.

The new territorial confinement will come into force this Friday at midnight. A novelty is that the curfew, in effect since mid-January and which starts at 6:00 p.m., will start at 7:00 p.m. from Saturday. This curfew will remain in force throughout the national territory.

Various possibilities have been considered for days. President Macron did not want severe confinement, difficult to impose politically and socially, but at the same time, there was a lot of pressure from the health authorities due to the saturation of hospitals.

The health crisis it becomes more acute in areas with high population density and less income per capita. This is the case of department of Seine-Saint Denis, bordering the city of Paris to the north. It is the poorest region of metropolitan France, with a high proportion of non-community immigration, social problems and crime. There, the incidence rate is one of the highest and, paradoxically, the vaccination coverage is very low.

The mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot, of the National Regroupement (RN, extreme right, lepénisme), has launched very serious accusations against Macron and his government. In an interview, Aliot said that citizens began to “doubt the state’s ability to protect the population”.

The far-right leader described as “Shame on our country” the current curfew until now at 6 p.m. and warned of the economic, social and psychological damage caused by this measure. As the nuts are tightened in the territories hardest hit by the virus, he said, the conditions where the situation is better should be eased.