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French Prime Minister Jean Castex called on police chiefs in the 20 areas threatened by an explosion of coronavirus cases to crack down on citizens who flout government rules aimed at stemming the spread of the disease.
The disease, which has killed just over 86,000 people in France since January 2020, shows no sign of abating despite the imposition of a nationwide curfew and heavy use of staff using their computers at home. house to avoid traveling on public transport and entering the office.
The 20 zones include Pas de Calais to the north, Paris and several surrounding departments as well as Moselle to the east and Var to the south.
Castex emerged from a meeting on Saturday with Minister of Health Olivier Véran, Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin as well as health and safety officials to demand more checks on people in the street after the covers – 6 pm fire.
He said he also wanted to see more effectiveness in the vaccination campaign and checks on employers who put pressure on their staff not to work from home.
Castex reiterated its desire to avoid a large-scale lockdown and maintain local restrictions.
“The prefects are working hand in hand with local elected officials to strengthen our strategy to fight Covid-19,” Castex said on social media.
“The question is not to be for or against containment but to do everything to avoid it,” he also said.
Castex’s call for repression came as the northern city of Dunkirk entered a weekend lockdown.
The move followed infection rates exceeding 900 per 100,000 population, nearly nine times the national average.
Similar to a lockdown imposed in the southern city of Nice, some 250,000 people in and around Dunkirk are only allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons.
The 10 largest shopping centers in the region are only open for click-and-collect services.
On Saturday, the deputy mayor of Nice, Anthony Borré, paid tribute on social networks to the inhabitants of the city for joining the lockdown.
Borré also tweeted a TF1 report on the ability of the police to use technology to track down anyone who tries to evade the rules.
In an interview with L’Express magazine, Pierre Hurmic, the mayor of Bordeaux, said he wanted to take advantage of Castex’s desire for regional flexibility and push back the city’s curfew from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“I’m all for it,” he told the magazine. “The State must trust the mayors. In Bordeaux, we are on a slightly declining plateau. We are less affected than others. We can experiment.”
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