To think Macron is ridiculous

[Dongdingdong]

These poor lorry drivers are very isolated anyway due to the nature of their jobs. The chances of them catching this new super strain and transmitting it are even slimmer than most people’s very slim chances. Macron’s decision to close the border is a hysterical overreaction and no doubt politically (Brexit) motivated. Open the borders and let them through!

Its xenophobic bullshit. All of it.

@RedToothBrush As another poster pointed out, back in March you were calling for the UK to keep our borders open. Now when the French close theirs you’re all for it. It’s hard to take you seriously I’m afraid.

It does make me laugh. People here have been calling for us to close the borders for months, afterall it's what made Australia and NZ so successful, you known. France try it and they're not playing fair.

I do feel for the lorry drivers, most won't be home for Christmas now, even if they are able to start moving today, but I understand why the French have done it.

Brexit was our countries biggest mistake

Invading Iraq, Suez crises, entering the First World War? Brexit was a mistake but lets keep some perspective.

now we are one isolated lonely island.

Up there with South Georgia for sure......

Thanks to all leavers, they deserve everything that they get.

What should they be 'getting' then?

We will just have to suffer but with a clear conscience.

Seek help.

Who on earth are you addressing, OP? Emmanuel Macron?

I don't think he's on Mumsnet.

@JamieLeeCurtains no, really? I thought he or at least some of his advisers would be regular readers of Mumsnet

It does make me laugh. People here have been calling for us to close the borders for months, afterall it's what made Australia and NZ so successful, you known. France try it and they're not playing fair.

And equally there are posters who were calling for the UK’s borders to remain open in March but are now applauding Macron’s decision to close the French ones because it’s in the best interests of his people

@Dongdingdong

Who on earth are you addressing, OP? Emmanuel Macron?

I don't think he's on Mumsnet.

@JamieLeeCurtains no, really? I thought he or at least some of his advisers would be regular readers of Mumsnet

Well why both posting in the vocative then?

I'm as Remain as they come, but I do hate seeing posts from people almost gleefully wishing for the apocalypse to come on Jan 1st.

I really hope Brexit works out. I'm hoping for a deal or an extension.

Just seems some people care more about being right, than about being pragmatic, an in my view, they're every bit as responsible as the Leave campaigners for keeping division going.

@DailyPotion

It does make me laugh. People here have been calling for us to close the borders for months, afterall it's what made Australia and NZ so successful, you known. France try it and they're not playing fair.

I do feel for the lorry drivers, most won't be home for Christmas now, even if they are able to start moving today, but I understand why the French have done it.

Close the borders to air travelers , not to the port at Dover ! That's what people meant I think. They didn't consider about lorry freight or food etc back then. Matt H saying ' it's out of control' was all a about getting the tier 4 restrictions in place , he made a huge error saying it that way. It's because so many are not following the rules. I'm not blaming him for the new mutant strain of course but he could have handled his words a bit better!

I love being accused of xenophobia here.

Born in Central Europe, half of my family with roots in Russia, lived in Europe until my mid twenties. Speak a few European languages.

Voted Remain, went to every single rally there was.

But of course I must be xenophobic.

I think it's very sensible of Macron

@SuperbGorgonzola

I'm as Remain as they come, but I do hate seeing posts from people almost gleefully wishing for the apocalypse to come on Jan 1st.

I really hope Brexit works out. I'm hoping for a deal or an extension.

Just seems some people care more about being right, than about being pragmatic, an in my view, they're every bit as responsible as the Leave campaigners for keeping division going.

Agreed. And as for this blind worship of Macron. He doesn't give a fuck about you. I'm not an English exceptionalist whatever that is. I'm Scottish and historically we're allies of France. However I wouldn't trust him more than any of our own shabby lot.

Matt Hancock could be to blame for the new variant. The likelihood is that it evolved in an immunosuppressed cancer patient being treated with convalescent plasma, and he did donate plasma.

@HelloMissus

So is it more likely that this mutation appeared coincidently in Kent rather than say Nottingham which was Covid capital not long ago, or say London which has the most school children per square mile than anywhere in Europe?

Or is it more likely that it arrived in Kent from ...

It’s not just Kent. The estimate is that 60% of new infections across Wales are from this variant. We don’t have a whole heap of ports connecting to France...

@SuperbGorgonzola

I'm as Remain as they come, but I do hate seeing posts from people almost gleefully wishing for the apocalypse to come on Jan 1st.

I really hope Brexit works out. I'm hoping for a deal or an extension.

Just seems some people care more about being right, than about being pragmatic, an in my view, they're every bit as responsible as the Leave campaigners for keeping division going.

People have been predicting this for four years though. Maybe not a pandemic in the mix too but certainly good and food shortages and problems with border controls. The leave / remain arguments will carry on for years : after all, leavers in the political parties didn't let it drop for forty years or so and remainers will be the same for many more years too. remainers will gloat when ( or if) it goes badly wrong , of course they will. It's grim and caused so much division and hate and it's not good. This is just the start I'm afraid. I hate David Cameron for having his referendum and not making it advisory only. So many problems with Europe and our membership of it going back years and it will go on and on I'm afraid :( ( I remember the 1975 vote yes campaign as a kid so I'm old! )

@lyinginthegutterstaringatstars

I think it's very sensible of Macron

Why? To let Europeans not get home for Christmas?

@Splodgetastic

Don’t know why everyone is calling me a xenophobic nationalist. I have told someone whose ethnic origin I don’t even know that if they don’t like it in the U.K. they can go elsewhere. Hardly xenophobic.

Maybe because not liking the way our government is handling either Brexit or covid, or the way leavers rant about people from other countries, does not mean not liking the country? Or maybe because I’d lay odds you are one of those who say refugees should have stayed put and fixed their country, but when it’s you that needs fixing you would prefer people to leave?

Of course not, weren’t the U.K. threatening the French with gun boats over some fish last week?

@willsantausesantatize I appreciate that. I just would like to see a bit more, if not optimism, then at least will for it to not be a catastrophe.

I can't sympathise with people willing for others to lose their jobs whatever the circumstance.

The EU has its faults, and perhaps if they had been more open to reform with Cameron then the referendum could have been avoided. I can understand the sense of creep felt by some; the idea that the UK joined for the single market but never wanted to be part of a United States of Europe type set up. And while personally I'd have rather remained, and continued to press for reform, I can also understand those who would feel that that was acquiescence.

Dammit I was responding to the below:

So genuinely out of interest can I ask if you and many others here have been OK with travel France>UK being left unrestricted if, say, Mr Castex and Mr Veran had been on TV on Saturday and Sunday saying there's
a strain of the virus "out of control" in parts of France, particularly in the Pas-de-Calais Department?

EU countries are kidding themselves if they believe that the new strain (that has been around for THREE MONTHS) is not already circulating on the mainland.

The UK keeping it a bloody secret for months doesn't come across as trustworthy, so closing the border sounds like a good idea till everyone knows what's going on exactly.

[quote SuperbGorgonzola]@willsantausesantatize I appreciate that. I just would like to see a bit more, if not optimism, then at least will for it to not be a catastrophe.

I can't sympathise with people willing for others to lose their jobs whatever the circumstance.

The EU has its faults, and perhaps if they had been more open to reform with Cameron then the referendum could have been avoided. I can understand the sense of creep felt by some; the idea that the UK joined for the single market but never wanted to be part of a United States of Europe type set up. And while personally I'd have rather remained, and continued to press for reform, I can also understand those who would feel that that was acquiescence.[/quote]
Thanks for not flaming me!
Would the EU have reformed though? We will never know now :(
I find it all so sad and the arguments will go on and on.

Macron is preventing the free movement of European citizens, other EU member states may have an issue with that.

At moment we won't know full extent of variant. Its just been released that one of the types of testing machines doesn't pick up the new strain.