On an unseasonably chill grey May morning, in coats and scarves, Paris came out of lockdown in much the same mood as it went into it two months ago: a bit hesitantly, dragging its feet, not entirely sure what the rules were of another new non-normality, reports The Guardian.
“I’m a little bit frightened,” admitted Marianna Mota, reopening her florist’s on Rue Condorcet in the 9th arrondissement for the first time since March 17th. “I only hope the customers will come and I only hope they’ll be careful. We need them to be.”
It nearly did not happen at all. According to local media, the government hesitated until the last minute before finally confirming last week it would lift the lockdown in the French capital and its surrounding area, the country’s most densely populated region and the hardest hit by Covid-19.
Unlike most of the rest of France, classified green, and to a much greater extent than the three other regions coloured red for high-risk – broadly the country’s north-east quarter – the coronavirus is still circulating in and around Paris, where Covid-19 patients currently account for more than 10% of admissions to emergency care wards.
Infections in the Île-de-France region remain “higher than hoped for”, the prime minister, Édouard Philippe, has warned, and the number of coronavirus patients being treated in the region’s intensive care units still exceeds the number of ICU beds available before the crisis began.
“In Paris, we will be leaving lockdown under very strict conditions and very close surveillance,” the mayor of the 9th arrondissement, Delphine Bürkli, said on Monday: parks and squares will remain closed, as will big department stores such as Galeries Lafayette and the Forum des Halles shopping centre.
Employers in Paris have been urged to allow as many staff to continue working from home as possible, or introduce shifts, at least until June. The Paris metro is operating well below capacity, with about 60 stations closed and rush-hour passengers obliged to prove their journey is essential and unavoidable. Masks are obligatory.