The traffic was worsened by the fact that many were also leaving for the November 1 All Saints' Day holiday. French media reported that the logjams were more than double the usual in the region around Paris, reaching near-record levels as many headed for the country or family homes with more space. Highways around the capital descended into scenes of traffic chaos during the night as residents fled the capital. "During lockdown, the quality of life in the capital is terrible and so everyone who can do, tries to get away," he said. He plans to stay in his second home in the French region of Burgundy until over Christmas. Everyone wanted to book to get away," Ponti was quoted as saying. "The minute the French president gave his speech (announcing a lockdown), the entire national train website went down, was overloaded. He left Friday morning with his husband after finding all trains were booked Thursday night. He called the departure of the Parisians a "historic exodus." You have resigned yourself to it," said Yoann Boullé, 28, a sanguine evening manager at a Parisian brasserie.īut many Parisians, who had had enough last time around, didn't wait to be confined to their typically cramped apartments for four weeks.Ĭarlo Ponti, a 54-year-old interior decorator, was among those who fled Paris, but he did it by train. He forecasted an 11 per cent fall in GDP this year.įrench residents could perhaps be forgiven for thinking it was groundhog day, just a few months after they emerged from one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe. Such measures have taken a brutal toll on economies around Europe, and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire gave grim predictions during an interview on France-Inter, raising his estimate for the depth of the recession. Germany, which is also seeing an increase in cases though on a much less dramatic scale, agreed this week to a monthlong shutdown of restaurants, bars, theatres and other leisure facilities, dubbed "lockdown light." The government in Belgium is meeting Friday to consider even tougher restrictions on movement that would amount to a quasi-lockdown. In Belgium, the average number of daily cases is around 150 per 100,000 people, compared to France's approximately 62. Many of its European neighbours are experiencing rising infections, some even beyond what they saw in the spring. Hans Kluge said that the national lockdowns a "last resort option," citing the considerable damage the measures inflict on economies, people's mental health and the incidence of domestic violence.īut France is not alone. In the wake of France approving new restrictions in hopes of reversing the trend, WHO European regional director Dr. That means that, on a per capita basis, France is seeing about two and a half times the number of new cases each day that the United States is. "And this experience of being between four walls, far away from family and friends is so hard."įrance is witnessing new daily cases currently averaging around 50,000. "It's not nice because I left my country to enjoy the experience of living in another country," said Laura Beimberg, 28, an intern at cosmetics giant L'Oreal who is from Mexico. Prime Minister Jean Castex was quoted by AP as saying on Thursday, "Going to friends' houses, having friends over and moving around for anything other than the reasons set out" will be impossible. A man walks in an empty street during a nationwide confinement to counter the Covid-19, in Bayonne, France.
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