In France under lockdown - AMA

[MickeyMouae199]

I'm currently under lockdown in France in a relatively big city. The measures came into effect at 12pm today and will last for at least two weeks... Feel free to ask any questions !

Each village has a mayor who knows everyone, they will have ensured any elderly or vulnerable people with no support will have been put on a rosta for neighbours to help. At least this is what is happening in our village.

France seems to be remarkably organized. My riding instructor received specific guidelines from the regional riding association, sent to all professionals. She was advised to cancel all visits other than for welfare reasons, to coordinate with colleagues so that each person made as few visits to as few places as possible, to avoid riding and advise clients to avoid riding (to reduce the risk of injuries that would then need hospitalization), etc. Similar guidelines have been sent out to all professionals, e.g. my farrier has been advised to only go out for emergencies and animal welfare reasons. I am sure that, like with everything, some parts of the system are failing, but overall they are extremely well organized with information and support for everyone.

@Angryrant55

People are helping their neighbors, some "associations" are making lists of people who can help etc.

I am not sure how things are happening in rural France though.

Also is public transport running for those who are too far to walk to a supermarket or are they relying on the nearest store available.

@Angryrant55

I think about 60% of public transport is running in Paris today - not sure about the rest of France

I imagine the large multicultural areas of france must be a challenge.

Me again! Are churches still open? We’re hoping to squeeze in our legal wedding with us and 2 witnesses (all a meter apart) but wondering if this is not possible if we do have a similar lock down. Our vicar suggested it but maybe hasn’t appreciated full implications...

Also maybe the paper form is so they can take it as evidence more easily

Also for those asking, it appears that doctors are able to issue medical exemptions for people who need to move outside of the parameters, e.g. a child with ASD who needs to be walked, for safety reasons, by two adults, can obtain a medical exemption.

Churches of all faiths are closed. Weddings, baptisms and similar ceremonies are cancelled for now. Short ceremonies with very few people can be carried out, outdoors , for funerals.

@Angryrant55 public transport is working at reduced capacity in my city too

Oh noooo. He’s immunocompromised and concerned about the outbreak, hence we wanted to get it done ASAP...

Here are the explanations from the Minister of the Interior on why it needs to be a paper version for the authorization to go out.
twitter.com/CCastaner/status/1240377676977897476

@Angryrant55

Why ?

Thanks for that link *@pluiedeprintemps - I’m not sure why a phone should be more likely to harbour the virus than a piece of paper. Anyway I know better than to try and argue with any form of French admin - I’ve always found Fit in or F** off to be a useful maxim (my DH used to say that should be the school motto at all French schools). Interested to note there were 4,000 on the spot fines today so they are clearly challenging some people.

@LillianGish
I don't know how much of his french you understand - so apologies if you have understood it.

He does say that phones could transmit the virus more than paper - but he also says

• unscrupulous internet platforms could try and steal data if people fill out forms with personal info

• it's not about making peoples life easier - we shouldn't be going out anyway - filling it out on paper each time should be dissuasive
• geeks etc could just fill one in once they are out and see police and so would be leaving confinement without one filled in

Concerning fit in or fuck off - we often say that for many other countries the idea of integration is helping other people integrate and making it possible for them (i.e. official forms in the UK being available in multiple languages etc.) in France it is - you must integrate yourselves to our culture.

En français - Ici l'integration c'est vous allez vous integrer - ailleurs c'est nous allons vous integrer

But I do understand the fines - people are taking the piss - a lot of people were out and about today from videos I saw.

In France the state is covering 80% of wages of people who are off work because they cannot remote work and 100% of wages of people who are off for sickness or because they need to look after their children up to 4x minimum wage - so up to about 4500 euros after-tax per month, I am lucky, I can remote work and won't be affected - but it's also a social question, the remote workers are in the majority - the privileged. The supermarket cashiers, the bin men, the postal workers, the cleaners, the drivers, the food factory workers ect, not to mention the frontline healthcare workers are all still having to travel to work and put themselves and their families at risk ... whilst they are doing all they can, often on low pay to keep the country running, office workers and many others who cannot work because of restrictions will be paid up to 4 times what a minimum wage worker is earning a month of public money - and some of these people are taking family strolls - and this is a video of today in Paris

twitter.com/murielgensse/status/1240323995356090368

It is unfair to all those who are working to keep our country running - So I hope every selfish fucker who is out and about while the checkout workers are risking their health for low pay - Well, I hope as many as possible of them get fined, maybe it will teach them social responsibility, par le portefeuille (by the wallet).

This is a photo of the working conditions for the checkout people

@pluiedeprintemps - great post. Sorry if you thought I came across as anti-French., nothing could be further from the truth. I think the way the French state has swung into action has been magnificent. Perhaps I should have said When in Rome instead of FIOFO - but that doesn’t sound quite right when I live in Paris. It is interesting to compare the approach here with the UK - France has issued a clear set of instructions and people are complying - and if they don’t they are being sanctioned. In the area of Paris where I live the atmosphere feels calm, there is food in the shops, people are queueing to buy what they need and not ransacking the shelves. I’m more than happy to fit in and I very much agree that the act of physically printing off (or copying out) and filling in a form helps focus your mind about whether your trip is an essential one. Vive la France.

Thank you for your kind words, @pluiedeprintemps

@LillianGish
Oh don't apologize - I totally agree about the FIOFO - It's how France is - and it can be so frustrating at times - I've been in France for most of my life now, I have no accent and people are surprised often when I tell them I am foreign.

I speak perfect French, I have a french masters and doctorate. I cook French food, I know how the politics work, I read the french newspapers etc - but there is always one - who once they know I am not french - who will start with little comments, often prefaced by something along the lines of "ah, mais enfait, ç'est pas comme ça qu'on fait ici" (oh, actually that's not how we do things here) - the here being a reference to France.

It pisses me off because I see it just as a sort of little dig of you're not french and often it is totally irrelevant and/or wrong. It's also often when I order tea at a café - a tea as you probably know is often like 6 euros in a Parisian café , and so if they bring me a pot of tepid water with the teabag on the side I always unwrap the teabag then take it back to the bar and ask them to put it in a pot and add boiling water afterward I often get told - Oh t'es trop anglaise - for doing that and it really annoys me - because it has nothing to do with being english, it has to do with not wanting to pay upwards of six euros for a cup of tea ...

Anyway - things are calm here in the 14th too - the birds seemed really loud this morning. We will see what the day brings.

I think the organization is going well - I'm happy to live in a country that is offering such good social protection to those who need it.

I'm happy that the taxis and hotels are being requisitioned for medical staff.
I hope all of the ENT (the french internet networks for schools) can keep up with the solicitation.
The courts have started to order the release of asylum seekers from administrative retention centres.
The JAP - Juge d'application des peines - The juge who decides how sentencing is carried out -are workig day and night to set up release for prisoners who pose no threat - there has been a first death - at Fresnes I think.
They are reinforcing the domestic violence helpline because unfortunately, due to lockdown they are expecting a surge in domestic violence.
I am waiting to see better measures for the homeless - Hidalgo (who is Paris Maire) said yesterday evening that if things don't go quickly enough she will requisition hotels for them too in Paris.
They have automatically prolonged visas and cartes de Sejour/residence permits by 3 months.
I am waiting to see what they are going to do to help all of the sex workers from Bois de Boulogne etc who are out of work and a very fragile population - and because they work cash in hand won't be getting the social protection offered to others.
The state is even paying me 70% of what I normally pay my cleaning lady so I can continue paying her.
I think it is a good reminder of why we pay tax, and why we pay such hight tax here.
Donc c'est pas trop mon genre - mais oui - vive la france, vive la republique!
I have no sympathy for other

Has anyone actually been stopped by police and asked for their attestation yet?

I've handwritten mine out but would quite like to put the date in pencil so I can reuse the same attestation several times rather than waste paper keeping writing it out as I'm supposed to be getting out 30 minutes a day (while keeping away from everyone else of course!) as I can't can't do any other exercise during my pregnancy.

Just wondering how strict they are being!

I have to agree pluie, the French are really trying to look after everyone and think through all the ramifications. Greece is also doing quite well. It is a much poorer country and would have even more trouble with all this but the PM is being extremely proactive - I can’t imagine what disaster this would have been under Tsipras!

When you go out eg to shops, can you take kids with you?

@kersh33
I think it probably depends where you are - I think they are being very strict yes - there have been 1000's of fines allready

if children are too young to be left alone then yes you can take them. You can also go for walks with your children, they are not expected to do this alone. Just important to keep distance from other people.

I really am very glad they are not as strict as Italy or Spain - I have big dogs who are used to long walks, they would go nuts if I could only take them to pee no more than 50m from house. Just had a long walk in sunshine, didn't meet anybody so did not contribute to any virus spreading - but makes a big difference.

I imagine the large multicultural areas of france must be a challenge.

I live in the scummy actually some bits are quite nice northern suburbs of Paris. It's very quiet out and about. Bit of panic buying at the boulangerie on day one but that's calmed down here. It is definitely going to worsen inequalities though, loads of kids at my kids' school have French as an additional language and won't have internet / computers at home and people who live in high rises with several kids will be struggling.

Anyway I know better than to try and argue with any form of French admin

Haha I have the exact opposite approach. I prove my Frenchness by digging my heels in and giving as good as I get and bulldozing my POV across