France lockdown 2 - vers un deconfinement

[CroissantsAtDawn]

2nd thread discussing the lockdown in France and the impending deconfinement...

First thread here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3850860-Lockdown-conditions-in-France

I've only been back in for 2 hours and I found it really difficult with the mask on.

I've made my own and have been tweaking them to make them as comfortable yet efficient as possible. The kids in both classes took their masks off after about 5 minutes.

They are mandatory for adults and strongly recommend for pupils.

DH has been back in full time and by Tuesday afternoon he had had enough of the mask.

The heat has arrived and it's here to stay (we are near Nîmes, hottest town on average in France), if we get another summer like last year it will be unbearable or anyone working with a mask (unless there is clim, which schools don't have).

We just had an update from the director of DS9's primary school, basically saying that while they are barely managing to respect the protocol sanitaire with the children that have returned this week and next (75 out of 320), there is no way that they can take the 140 each day that have said they want to come back after the 4 June. He's writing to tell the inspector that it simply isn't possible to respect the rules that the gouvt have laid down with that many children. And that's only half as many as would be in school normally.

What a mess. I can't see any way out of this. Sorry, I'm having a down day, stuck inside while it's 30° outside, no garden, DH trying to work, children glued to a screen yet again, and no prospect of seeing my mum in the UK for months!

Sorry if I killed the thread with my school-related gloom! With 2 kids in primary / college, plus DH and I both working in a college / lycée, the uncertainty of it all is weighing heavily on my mind atm.

We all hit walls at different times!

Im just ignoring it all and hoping it will go away....

If we have to cancel our summer holidays I'll be devastated.

Our DC start back at school on Monday. except DS1 is now on crutches (sprained ankle) and a) can't manage to get up to school and b) I suspect school will refuse crutches...

And its put laid to our lovely plans to go walking and cycling this weekend. Im shattered so am trying to catch up on rest. I feel quite apathetic about it all right now.

Totally understandable, I was at the end of my tether last week with DS and his schoolwork. It was annoying enough to wait news about him - must be extremely tough if your entire family is affected.

I am a little hopeful about summer, we have tickets to 4 different countries in July, and seems like all of them are opening borders and not requiring quarantines by that time. Of course, not sure what flights we will still have, all airlines are operating very limited schedules only.

How long will your DS be on crutches for Croissants?

We have had no news from the lycée and the teachers seem to have given up. The only work DS in terminale is being set is (unmarked) exercises from the manual. He isn't doing them and I'm not making him. He is doing some maths from a booklet for students going into maths sup.

He got his Parcoursup results this week, and got into almost everything including his first choice (which is reasonably local to us) - this is an enormous relief especially in the circumstances.

Hope everyone is feeling ok today 🙂

Totally understand Coronavirus fatigue. I actually properly cried during lockdown, due to a combination of the Illiad (DD2, only willingly reads bandes dessinées) and calculs littéraires (DD1, 3 weeks of maths that she had been pretending to understand in the hope that it would go away!)

Hopefully, hopefully we will be able to have some kind of summer holiday. There are loads of cars and camper vans here registered on the other side of France, so way outside the 100km limit. I don’t actually mind about that in itself but just hope the authorities don’t suddenly decide to crack down on everyone.

@NoraLuka

I am feeling better! Both DS have now had friends over, and I took DS12 to a skatepark with his friend. They bumped around while I sat by the river and listened to a funny podcast. Life goes on.

Have any of you done apero / dinner / lunch with friends yet, at home? It feels like the next step - but a big one.

Oh and a friend just texted me to say she’d completely broken the rules and driven 350km with her two boys, to her parents place, where she’s planning to stay till summer. She didn’t get stopped by police anywhere en route. Fingers crossed it’s the same for summer!

A quick question from the UK because I’m interested. There seems to have been a far greater relaxation of rules in France after roughly the same amount of lockdown. Was there mass outcry from people when the rules were eased, about an apparently inevitable second peak, like there is here at the minute? And, have cases risen since?

I have not seen any mass outcry about a second peak @ beach, the papers talk about it but seem quite sensible about the reporting. Small clusters of cases have appeared but so far have been very little. Cases overall are still low. The politicans say and the papers report though it is too early yet to know ( rightly so in my view). I feel it is being watched carefully.

I'm wondering if the heat is going to help or hinder the situation. I think clim is probably going to make it worse, but doesn't heat help shorten the lifespan of the virus on things?

Anecdotally a lot of my French FB friends are moaning about the second wave round the corner.

Beachdays - France locked down earlier and harder so the number of cases is pretty low now and they do seem to have been able to deploy an aggressive test and trace strategy.

Remember also that unlike the U.K., France did not have a nationwide outbreak - the epidemic was very concentrated around Paris and in the east around Mulhouse. The south west has had hardly any cases (and in fact has had lower than normal mortality for the time of year, because of a benign flu season).

They are finding about 500 cases a day at the moment (versus several thousand a day in the U.K.) and so far there hasn't been an increase since lockdown ended, although that may not last.

@beachdays123 the daily new cases/deaths numbers were quite a lot lower when the start of deconfinement was announced than UK figures are even now, weeks on, I think. And it is only first step here - some parks are still closed, bars and restaurants still closed, lots of people not yet sending children to school by choice. Lots of people are wearing masks even where it isn't obligatory.

@MadameF thank you very much re Thabor (thanks for guessing what I meant!). We are on other side of Fougeres!

From what I can see and hear around here, people are aware of the possibility of a second wave and are waiting to see what the effects of déconfinement will be, but I certainly wouldn't call it an outcry.

There have been relatively few cases in my area of SE France and the hard lockdown helped keep those figures lower than was initially feared.

People realise the risk is currently far lower than at the start of lockdown - especially because of proximity to the Alps and N. Italy, which meant that Feb/March were high-risk due to people skiing at weekends - but they also know that it is likely to rise again once travel restrictions are lifted and people from red and green zones start to intermingle more.

This is where you all are! I've spent the entire confinement looking in Living Overseas - I'm rather late to the party now. Place marking.

@Mistigri my Terminale DD is the same. Nothing from the Lycée and the only teacher giving them work or interacting with them is the History Geography teacher. She got a place in Uni in the Netherlands, she didn't want to do the parcoursup despite our protests

We were in Geneva today and it's madness on two sides. Firstly hardly anyone is wearing masks and social distancing, while makes on the ground and signs everywhere is NOT happening.

We walked around Molard and there were long queues outside H&M, C&A and the luxury goods like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel!!!! It was crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a second wave in Geneva and Pays de Gex.

@LillianGish bienvenue

I'm in 01, a few of us here actually!

@Longpause

I took DS and a friend to a (quiet) skatepark this afternoon, which involves driving past our city’s luxury shopping area... it was so busy! I’d actually forgotten that people go to actual shops: other than for food. we are shopping pretty much exclusively online, It’s so easy these days - albeit with long delivery times atm.

Thankyou @LongPauseNoReply. I'm in central Paris. Now the temperature has risen I'm appreciating the mask wearing as it masks any nasty niffs (pardon the pun). DS is in premier - still waiting to hear if the French oral will go ahead. DD - due to go to uni in September after a year out - has just got a place in Paris through Parcoursup. It was a toss up between that and Bristol/Royal Holloway, but I think the whole quarantine thing and uncertainty with what's happening at British unis has made up her mind for her. She will be staying here.

I think people in general are still being very careful. We had aperos here last Sunday, but all sitting outside 1m apart, no bises.

Masks are being worn everywhere I go. There is Talk of x turned up at their second home etc but they are not being welcomed with open arms.

I don't think the second wave will happen this summer, it will be in autumn once we all get back to normal and start having weddings and family get togethers and village fêtes. But next time it won't be just Paris/North East.

A quick question from the UK because I’m interested. There seems to have been a far greater relaxation of rules in France after roughly the same amount of lockdown.

Maybe, but fundamentally the French lockdown was enforced much more rigidly than the UK "lite" version (I experienced/witnessed both) and even though the French have relaxed things from what I am hearing/seeing the police/ Gendarmes can still being quite robust in things like road side checks ( there's a max 100 km rule for distance away from home when driving) and at railway stations where they are checking reasons for travel..

Oh, and even though locally we have done OK in terms of cases and are very much "green" many stores etc insist that you wear a face mask.

We are in a very green area with hardly any cases and everyone is wearing masks in shops now.

For the first time ever, ds13 requested we speak French in public as he doesn't want to be mistaken for a "corona tourist".

I don't think you can compare the UK "lockdown" with France. Family in Ireland experiencing similar to us in France, family in UK not at all. Around me people are being relatively cautious, about 60% wearing masks, queues distanced, planning to holiday in France and expecting another wave...