Westministenders: Crisis, which crisis ?

[BigChocFrenzy]

Main crises facing the government:

. Negotiating a Brexit deal with the EU
. Coronoavirus
. Floods
. Allegations of some ministers - and Cummings - bullying civil servants
. More trouble threatened from Turkey / Syria

Unfortunately with all these parallel crises, we have a workshy lying arse as PM
and the worst collection yet of incompetents in Cabinet
who seem to have decided on a strategy of bullying their civil servants to avoid hearing any facts that don't fit with current Tory party ideology

Good report here.
www.thelocal.fr/20200312/macron-says-schools-to-close-in-new-coronavirus-measures

I think classrooms are much more likely to spread the disease - high volume of peaopl in small spaces, lots of hard surfaces for virus to settle on and then transferred.
Grass is not going to quite have the same affect.
And so many kids socialise online now.....

Also France is a much bigger and less crowded country. We have a dozen children in our village, three or four kilometres to the next villages. Obviously it is not like that everywhere but it does make a difference.

Macron was bloody excellent. Come the moment etc.

Children are quite likely significant vectors of infection. Less likely to have symptoms and less likely to comply with social distancing measures either because too young to understand or because (teens & young adults) don't feel personally at risk.

Personally as a potentially at risk person I am very glad about the schools. I'm probably gladder than my 17 year old is going to be when he finds out.

I thought he was bloody excellent too. Really powerful leadership. Unlike the waffling buffoon.

missclimson, I think he got it absolutely right. DD who is a student at the Sorbonne in Paris (not naturally Macron-friendly territory) was also impressed.

it really felt like a grown-up was in charge.

I'm not a big Macron fan, but that was a good speech. Striking contrast with some other heads of state.

Also shows how useful it is if you haven't sacked all your competent staff, speechwriters, etc.

Macron and Varadkar earlier showing what leadership is

They have a clear strategy and are explaining it to their public
They are really showing up Bojo and Trump, but then so is almost every other leader so far

That's regardless of whether one approves of school closures - my chief worries about that are:

• the health service, care services and other essential services being hammered as parents stay home

• ditto the economy, with some self-employed and small businesses being ruined
  It could turn the inevitable global recession into a Depression

Gosh Macron is a SO much better speaker than Johnson or Trump.
He actually looks like he understands what he is saying (even if my French is very rusty)

The schools/unis closure has been in the pipeline for over a week.
I think they've been seriously consulting, planning, etc. before announcing. And getting advice, sth BJ isn't so hot on, IMO.
They are a bit constrained by municipal elections on Sun, which shouldn't really take place but they don't want to cancel.

He's the first leader I've heard saying so clearly that shutting schools is needed because children are more and more obviously asymptomatic spreaders and they shouldn't be out and about, giving it to one another with no one spotting it and passing it to others who are vulnerable. They're going to put in place care for kids whose parents work. Apparently.

Interesting choice of vocab to call on the nation to act and do their best.

He does also know, of course, that French hospitals are struggling (though not as badly as in the UK) and staff have been striking for ages, so recent budget policies will come in for serious scrutiny. Ditto research funding.

Not seen Macron's speech but France is, presumably, still scarred by how many elderly died in Paris during the heatwave of 2003.

Steve Peers @stevepeers
EU/UK talks next week not going ahead in their original format - video conferencing might be used however

BNO Newsroomm@BNODesk*

... Brazilian government spokesman who met with President Trump last weekend and was pictured standing next to him has tested positive for coronavirus^

• Folha

Hong Kong as a country as kept the infection rate manageable. One of the main line of defenses has been no school and no mass gatherings. Maybe a more compliment population? But as someone that has followed this very closely - the press conference in the uk was seriously underwhelming. Statements like we are 4 weeks behind Italy - when actually the numbers say we are only a week - they may get lucky and it's 2 weeks.
There were lots of assumptions being stated as fact - like the rate of deaths is 1% - but with no clarifying statement about what assumptions they have made to come to that. It maybe 1% in countries that manage it well - but Italy it's far higher.
Also about developing immunity...... we all hope that happens - but scientists don't know if that will actually happen, just as they don't know if summer will kill it off.

I honestly don't know what they are playing at......

@BCF - well wouldn't that be a silver lining

Brazilian government spokesman who met with President Trump last weekend and was pictured standing next to him has tested positive for coronavirus

I think we should send POTUS our thoughts and prayers.

I'm not a big Macron fan, but that was a good speech. Striking contrast with some other heads of state.

Same.

I blow a bit hot and cold re Macron (agree with him sometimes, but also strongly disagree with him at other times) but he hit the right note tonight.

In my personal on-line social circle (Brits in France plus French friends) I've yet to find anyone who wasn't impressed.

There was also some important stuff about global cooperation, and a very pointed reference to not using the crisis to ramp up nationalism and exceptionalism.

Well I guess if the Brexit talks go video then at least Barnier will not have to share a room with his
leedle Eenglish shums
gosh I could do with Antoine and Jean Paul back on our screens at the moment

Eurotrash! Think we’re showing our age now.

Oh but wasn't it WONDERFUL

DGR we must not say or think that.

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/03/12/budget-closure-red-diesel-tax-loophole-add-5000-cost-every-home/
Budget closure of red diesel tax loophole to add £5,000 to cost of every home, warns oil supplier
NHS hospitals will also see a doubling in their fuel costs for running emergency generators, warns Crown Oil

Oh yes - staggering in shitfaced from a big night out wasn’t the same without Eurotrash or Hitman and Her.