Deconfinement in France in danger

France has been one of the countries most affected by the second wave of the coronavirus. The measures imposed by the Elysée Palace from October 29 have been among the toughest in the whole European Union; total confinement was introduced in France, closing bars, restaurants, everything related to leisure and culture, non-essential shops and universities. Among the measures, it was also forbidden any kind of meetings with relatives, teleworking was forced whenever it could be done and people were forced to move with an "attestation" indicating the reason for their departure from home and the duration. These harsh measures have been very similar to those of the first wave of coronaviruses, including the famous limit of only being able to go out for individual sport one hour a day within a kilometre of one's home. These measures were supposed to last until December 1.  

After the peak around November 15, with 33,466 people infected in one day, on November 24, Macron announced the possibility of relaxing the measures, bearing in mind that the worst of the second wave had already passed. In his address he shared with the French a plan for decontamination, setting himself the goal of deconfining, by December 15, fewer than 5,000 cases of coronavirus detected each day and fewer than 3,000 people in intensive care units (in France known as resuscitation units). From November 28, the French were allowed to leave for three hours (instead of one hour) and 20 kilometres from home (instead of one kilometre). Some small shops and places of worship were also opened with restrictions. Theoretically, on December 15 the outlook changed in the run-up to Christmas, with the end of general confinement and restrictions on places that are closed and a curfew, but not general mobility restrictions. Bars and restaurants would remain closed until January 20, but cinemas, theatres, shops and museums could open, the "attestation" to leave the house would not be necessary, replacing it with a curfew from 9pm to 7am. With regard to Christmas, despite the announcement by the Elysée Palace that there would be no mobility restrictions or curfew on 24 and 31 December, Jean Castex strongly encourages family meetings with no more than six adults, prohibiting any type of gathering in the street.   

On December 7, the French woke up with some unpleasant news; the deconfinement might have to be delayed. Jerome Salomon, Director General of the French Health Service, warned that the risk remains high, cases have not dropped to the expected level and therefore deconfinement does not seem to be possible as expected. As of December 8, 13,713 new cases have been notified to the Ministry of Health in the last 24 hours, and 3,088 people are undergoing reanimation. Taking into account the trend, it seems that by the middle of this month there could be around 7,000 cases per day being over the limits imposed to be able to deconfine. The experts therefore point out that it will not be possible to open cinemas, theatres and museums from December 15th. Despite the fact that no perimeter or national confinement is expected and freedom of movement is allowed, France is already beginning to assess the possibility of restricting mobility for French people who want to go skiing in Switzerland and Spain, whose ski resorts remain open.  

Unlike other countries such as Spain and Italy, where restrictions vary by area, this second wave of coronavirus has affected most French departments equally and therefore the measures have generally been more restrictive than in other neighbouring countries. Experts and the government do not understand why the decline in cases has slowed down, considering that the measures since November 30 have been very similar to those of containment. Following the Health Defence Council on December 9, Prime Minister Jean Castex is expected to announce the new restrictions at Thursday's press conference. France, like most European Union countries, hopes to be able to conduct a mass vaccination campaign from January 2021. This past week, the first Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was given to a 90-year-old British woman, prompting some optimism in European society. Even so, the mass vaccination will take a few months and until then the French Government, like the other European executives, is in the difficult position of having to restrict the movements of its citizens during Christmas and the New Year.