Lockdown conditions in France

[CroissantsAtDawn]

Ive seen lots of threads with people worrying about lockdown.and how they would cope/ it would be enforced.

Last night, following the President's announcement I received a text message from the government confirming the lockdown for 15 days and linking to a site with details.

From 12 today we are only allowed out to go to work if work from home isnt possible, buy groceries, see a doctor, help elderly/vulnerable family in need (with reminder about barrier actions), to let a dog do its business or for individual physical activity close to home.

Each time you need a paper dated and signed explaining why you are out. Infringements are fined 38-135 euros. The paper can be downloaded and printed, shown on your phone or just hand written.

100 000 police and army personnel are being deployed to enforce the conditions.

No mention of how children can exercise. Just that parks etc are closed and there should be no family or friends gathering.

We are going to test going out early for run with 1 DC each and hope that is allowed in "individual activity". If its not I ll stand on the doorstep and watch them run up and down the road (2 highly active boys living in a flat....)

@kersh33

Speaking as a city dweller who hasn’t beetled off to their holiday home, the reasons for me (if I had) would be:

Feeling that we’re less likely to catch the virus / easier to socially distance in a smaller / quieter location with less people around. I have several friends and colleagues who made a very sharp exit from Lyon on the morning before confinement started for that reason - often they had a vulnerable person in their family.

Just being able to get outside - here, most of us live in apartments with no gardens, all the parks, playparks, riverside walks etc are closed.

Our holiday place is considerably larger than our city apartment- we’d all be a lot more comfortable being in confinement there, compared to here. Again, I have friends who legged it to their holiday place as it has loads more space - rather than trying to keep 3 kids and 2 adults happy in a 60m2, top floor, flat.

We can’t meet family and friends anyway - we might as well be somewhere else.

We haven’t gone, and we won’t. But I understand why some people have.

Oh and something about human behaviour I’ve observed here? If it isn’t closed, then it’s open! If the beaches aren’t physically closed off (I know this isn’t practical) then some people will believe that means they are open.

Sure I totally get it that it's nicer to have more space and garden, and it would have been fine if the families were in their second homes before the lockdown. Now they told us specifically that we're not allowed to go on holiday and move around for the purpose of going to summer houses.

Yeah, I do agree that it’s the wrong thing to do: I’m secretly judging my friends who skipped town, even if I understand why they did it ;-)

Anyone spot this one this morning?

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52174288

It's a guy who was stopped and turned back in his car at the Spanish border so he decided it would be sensible to walk across the Pyrenees to get some cheap baccy.

Hope he gets billed for the rescue services as well as the fine.

Our local department has stricter restrictions than the overall ones - we can't even go to forests, riverbanks or mountains. Basically everything where it is actually pleasant to walk is off limits. I wish they would relax that part at least, the same few routes in the fields are getting a bit boring.

Disappointed in the electronic form, I thought it would be something easy and convenient to use,click and go. But typing in all the data each time does not make it easier. Will probably just stick to my paper forms, I pre-filled one and have a stack printed out, so just need to date and sign.

As DH says, they're trying to make the forms a pain and time consuming to fill in to add another obstacle to going out. We're definitely happier since we managed to print some off than when we were hand writing them!

For the smartphones one - we're concerned they might start tracking how often you go out...

Yesterday it was 22 degrees and glorious in Paris. But we had to stick to 1km from our flat (fortunately we're right by the seine). It was so frustrating- would have loved to have been in the country (we don't have a holiday home).

I don't understand those attempting to go on holiday now though- they must know they'll get stopped and fined.

A friend told me this morning that a couple and young child in a car with Alsace plates have started squatting in a shed on their lane, in the Hérault. No running water, no toilets, camping stove/campfires, so a big fire risk in a wooded area. 10 of these people's friends came for apéro and BBQ last weekend. My friends called the police and mairie, but were told that because of the extension of the trève hivernale, they couldn't be moved on...

Yes I'm also reluctant to use the smartphone because of that. I need to both walk the dogs, the DC and also occasionally run, so I really can't squeeze it into one hour.

That is partly the point of the smartphone form: they can tell if you're out long than is allowed.

That is partly the point of the smartphone form: they can tell if you're out long than is allowed.

They can already tell that with the forms.

Not if you lie on the form...the app apparently shows them what time you actually filled it in.

Has anyone had any problems finding normal long-life milk? It's the first time I've looked for it in a supermarket and all they had left were a couple of bottles of ones with added vitamins or "digestion legère." I normally buy 3 bottles at a time but it was expensive so just bought one but am now wondering whether I should have bought more or whether to just try a different supermarket in a couple of days time.

@Roseau18 So far we've had no issues at all with milk. Been able to buy our usual brand every week. Hopefully it's a temporary thing for you. Not sure we could do without milk in our household!! 😱

Yet another form for those who need to enter or transit France:

uk.ambafrance.org/Coronavirus-Covid-19-transports-vers-la-France

Not if you lie on the form...the app apparently shows them what time you actually filled it in.

But why would you lie on the form?

If I leave the house at 0930 to go to the supermarket then I write 0930 on the form. If I get stopped at 11am then I am going to get fined as it doesn't take an hour and a half to drive 10k and do the shopping.

If I leave the time blank then I will get fined for leaving the time blank if I am stopped.

If I write 1030 on the form to give me a bit more time outside and then get stopped at 0945 then I am going to get fined for lying on the form.

Don't get me wrong, I have no issues with the app - it will certainly save a lot of ink and paper!

Hi everyone. We just completed our third week of home confinement in the South-East. The streets are very quiet and there is very little queuing in front of grocery stores.

Flour is difficult enough to find but printer ink is like gold dust, up there with medical masks. DC get daily school work & homework online, and most of it needs to be printed.

On the other hand, the sun is shining, we have a terrace and a garden, so I can't really complain. I hope you are all doing OK in these extraordinary circumstances.

For those taking the CAPES, the written part should be in June, then the candidates who are admissibles will be contractuels until December when they will take the orals. That's the latest news in teaching groups, obviously could change again.
For the Bac and DNB, it's all control continu, no grades during confinement will be taken into account, but the 3rd term will count (they're still assuming kids will be going back as of the 5th of May), and attendance until the 4th of july will be mandatory.

Has anybody had any issues with what shopping is essential? I see this seems to be a big issue in the UK, people complaining that someone bought wine and chocolate, and shops listing what they are selling. I haven't had any such issues over here, you can buy everything if you're already in the supermarket.

But why would you lie on the form?
Well, why do people break rules in general?
Because you might want to go out for longer than an hour for a run/walk.
If you leave at 9:30, you write 9:45 on the form, giving yourself an extra 15mins. And cross your fingers that it won't be checked before 9:45.
I realise that law abiding people wouldn't do this, obv, but I have read that some people have been.

I think there are fewer issues about essentials here because people are being relatively compliant and not going to buy a bottle of wine and a bar of chocolate. Maybe because they do that type of shopping less, anyway?
It also allows some businesses that are non-essential to keep going.

The chocolaterie here has set up a stringent system where you order online, they ring to give you a collection time, there is no one around when you arrive, you park well away from the door (one car in the car park at any time), stay in your car and call them. A gloved and masked staff member leaves your order on a table by the door; when they have gone back in, you leave your car and collect the order.
Not essential shopping, clearly, and I think they are being ultra careful because they know they will be shut otherwise. But it means they can avoid the huge damage otherwise incurred by zero Easter sales.

"Has anybody had any issues with what shopping is essential?"

No. We buy whatever we like and can find, going by the assumption that if it's on display, you can buy it.

If they stopped people from buying wine around here, there would be popular revolt. I have often seen elder locals nursing their glass of red wine at 9 AM on a Saturday morning when I go into the local restaurant/tabac to buy croissants.

I just saw via German news that they are tightening the exercise restrictions in Paris so you won't be able to go out for a run during the day. Doesn't that just mean everyone will be out at the same time in the mornings and evenings?

I haven't had any problem with buying essentials, in the sense that if its in the supermarket I can buy it. But I am shopping in small city centre supermarkets.

I did see one homeless guy buying just a can of beer but nobody said anything to him.

I bought a printer and it was delivered in 8 days which I was very impressed with. I bought an extra ink cartridge from darty (online) which should be delivered this week. The DC are having lots of fun catching up on the work they couldn't do without the printer (not).

I got stopped by gendarmes for the first time this morning on my run at 7am. I was 500m from the flat but was trying to run along the cycle track by the Seine and apparently that isn't allowed. No signs or barriers up though and we've done it many times before. I just apologised and went back up the steps. Wasn't fined though.

I haven't seen that about the times. Will have to go look cos DH is currently out with the DC!