(Updates with simplification of rules, citation)
PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) – Nearly a third of French people have been locked up for a month on Saturday, with many expressing fatigue and confusion over the latest set of restrictions to curb the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus.
The government on Thursday announced the new measures after a jump in COVID-19 cases in Paris and parts of northern France.
The new restrictions are less severe than those introduced during the spring and November 2020 closure periods, raising concerns that they may not be effective.
“It’s exhausting, tiring, it’s long. I hope it will end fairly quickly, although I have questions about how effective the measures are,” said Kasia Gluc, 57, a graphic editor, in Champs Elysees Avenue. said in Paris.
The Interior Ministry said in the night between Friday and Saturday that people can leave the house within 30 km (19 miles) if they wish, provided they fill out a statement.
Later on Saturday, Castex’s office said the rules were simplified and that during the day no paperwork was required within a 10km radius, but only proof of address.
“We need a letter of permission, but compared to previous exclusions we are much more free to go out. Are we locked up then? Yes and no,” said Antonin Le Marechal, 21.
Weather permitting, many Parisians went to the banks of the Seine for a walk, a bicycle tour, or to meet with family and friends.
“As you can see, everyone eats and takes off their masks,” said 20-year-old student Rachel Chea. “It does not change anything for me.”
The measures have caused frustration among so-called non-essential store owners who are being forced to close.
Stores that are allowed to stay open include the sale of food, books, flowers and chocolates, as well as hairdressers and shoemakers, but not clothing, furniture and beauty stores, according to a list released Friday night.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who said a total of 90,000 shops should close, defends the list of shops that could remain open, especially those that sell chocolate and flowers just two weeks before Easter.
“I am not saying at all that this is ideal, but it is done every time with a simple logic: guarantee the health of the French people, while preserving the economic activity and shops as much as possible,” he said.
The government, which has avoided using the word lockdown to describe the latest constraints, argues that measures are needed to ease the pressure on the intensive care units that are almost overflowing.
A large number of Parisians left the city before the restrictions took effect at midnight. (Reporting by Ardee Napolitano and Noemie Olivie, written by Sybille de La Hamaide, edited by Christina Fincher)
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