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France is once again a hot spot for the crown. But the government avoids restrictions at the national level, fearing an economic crisis. Many now take the virus lightly.
By Martin Bohne, ARD Studio Paris
France has once again become a hotspot for the corona pandemic. A few days ago, the symbolic limit of 10,000 new infections in 24 hours was exceeded for the first time. Overall, the country is already well above the warning limit for risk areas of 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. And in Paris and other metropolitan areas, it has long been in the triple-digit range.
Prime Minister Jean Castex recently noted the obvious deterioration of the situation. Doctors speak of exponential growth and urge the government to make difficult decisions: “The longer it takes decisions, the more confident we will be of reaching a situation where the virus gets out of control,” says the chairman of the scientific advisory board, Jean- Francois Delfraissy.
In the spring, the rulers had almost blindly accepted the recommendations of the panel of virology experts, leading to one of the toughest blockades in Europe. But that should no longer happen, and then President Emmanuel Macron corrected things: “The advisory council gives its opinion. But then there is a democratically elected government that makes the decisions,” he emphasized.
And the government has made the decision not to impose nationwide restrictions on public and private life for the time being. “Our strategy remains unchanged. We are fighting the virus, but not closing down our cultural, social and economic life,” Jean Castex said after the cabinet meeting. “We are conserving the ability to live normally. Yes, we have to live with the virus for a few more months, but there cannot be a general blockage.”
Regions must enforce stricter rules
Learning to live with the virus is the motto. Therefore, it was decided to take rather small measures: the monitoring of the infection chains must be improved, the currently too long waiting times of up to one week for corona tests, and the test results must be reduced by concentrating on people in risk. Those who tested positive and their contact persons are required to undergo a quarantine that is reduced to seven days. And that should now also be checked.
Responsibility for stricter measures is delegated to the regional level. Two particularly affected metropolitan areas, Marseille and Bordeaux, then prohibited gatherings of more than ten people in public spaces.
The government continues to avoid contact restrictions at the national level, although family celebrations and youth parties are the main reasons for the increase in infection cases. Rather, the government appeals to the people’s sense of responsibility. Supported by rather drastic advertisements – photos from a birthday party for Grandma, everyone hugging and hugging, kissing. Cut: Grandma is in the intensive care unit. The nurses rush in and a voice says: “We can all be affected, so we all protect ourselves. Observing the rules of distance.”
Coaxing well has little effect on young people
Persuading me to do so still doesn’t have much of an effect. The mask requirement in Paris and several other cities is also largely respected outdoors (there is also a 135 euro fine), but people sit cramped on the terraces of cafes and bars. Young people, in particular, violate hygiene rules. The images of hundreds of fans of the first division football club Olympique de Marseille caused a sensation, frantically celebrating the players after their victory over PSG Paris, without safety distances, without protective masks and without being disturbed by the police.
Possibly it is because the epidemic is much more harmless than spring. It mainly affects younger people with hardly any symptoms. Relatively few people are currently dying from Covid-19, while at the height of the pandemic, several hundred victims were crying every day. And there are no terrifying images of crowded intensive care units.
GDP is shrinking, although economic aid is working
Macron and his government want to avoid further restrictions on public life, mainly for economic reasons. The spring lockdown caused an unprecedented collapse in economic activity, much more pronounced than in Germany. Another reason the French economy suffers more than others is that the worst-hit industries, such as aviation and tourism, are relatively heavy. The state intervened en masse from the beginning to cushion the consequences. In keeping with President Macron’s promise: “We will do everything possible to protect our employees and our companies. No matter what the cost is,” he promised at the time.
A gigantic rescue package has been put in place: state loan guarantees for companies threatened by hundreds of billions and an unprecedentedly generous short-time regulation. In fact, so far a huge wave of bankruptcies and mass layoffs has been avoided. Earlier in the month, Premier Castex presented an additional € 100 billion package to stimulate the economy: “This € 100 billion recovery plan is the most massive economic stimulus package among all major European countries, it issued as a target.
Almost a third of the economic stimulus package is intended to promote ecological change, through the development of rail traffic and the use of bicycles, through the energy renovation of buildings and the promotion of clean energy and technologies. 35 billion euros will be used to make companies more competitive, mainly by reducing taxes. The third axis is the promotion of employment, especially through professional qualification measures.
According to the latest forecast from the Banque de France, gross domestic product will decline by almost nine percent this year. Pretty bad, but at least a more favorable forecast than a few weeks ago.
ER doctors complain of conflicting announcements
So the government has some success in limiting the economic impact of the health crisis. But the message doesn’t get through. At the beginning of the month, only about a third of those questioned in an opinion poll believed that the president and the head of government could control the country’s problems.
This is not a coincidence, says Philippe Juvin, head of the emergency department at the largest hospital in Paris. He gave the government a miserable testimony on the BFM television channel: “The crisis was poorly managed because everything was missing, especially at the beginning, because the organization was very bad and has advanced,” he says.
At first, the use of mouth and nose protection was described as pointless, even counterproductive, but now the mask is considered a panacea. At least now there are more than enough. Now a lot of things are also being tested, more than a million tests a week. But there are long lines for testing labs. The tracking of contagion chains works poorly, the StopCovid application developed in France is a complete failure.
And the lack of confidence in the government itself is becoming a problem, says emergency physician Juvin. Calls by the authorities to adhere to the rules of distance and hygiene are not respected by many: “Do people not trust the government, as often contradictory advertisements do?”
