Time moves on … and worries grow. It has been almost a year since the coronavirus pandemic has affected France, and good news is scarce at the start of 2021. Thursday, January 21, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, heard in the Senate by the Commission des lois au subject of the bill for the extension of the state of health emergency, spoke on the coronavirus pandemic. Statements broadcast on the channel Public Senate which will not please the French. “Even with the best organization and all the supplies that would arrive on time, we could not have vaccinated all vulnerable groups by the summer”, he declared while the government, criticized on the slowness of the vaccination campaign, recently generalized the curfew to the whole territory. “This is why we are asking for health measures to continue until the fall. It's mathematically defensible. " The Minister of Health also raised the possibility of a third confinement in the face of the arrival of new variants. “We are not going to lie: the development and spread of the variant of English origin on French territory can be a determining element in the strategies to fight against the epidemic that we could deploy in the coming days and in the coming weeks . And if the share of English variant in France were to increase significantly and we were to follow an English trajectory, containment would probably become an absolute necessity. ” Invited to 20 hours on TF1's television news the same evening, Olivier Véran also spoke about “New barrier gestures. ”
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, warns the French for the February holidays
In addition to this probable reconfinement, a question is currently tormenting the French: how to organize the February holidays? Do I have to make reservations, take tickets? Will we be able to travel? And if so, where? As the holidays approach (they will run from Saturday February 6 to Monday March 1, 2021, depending on the area), questions are multiplying. Thursday January 21, 2021, SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou, invited to the set of C to you, urged the French to book their train tickets for the winter holidays, assuring that they would be refundable in the event of a problem or new health constraints. At the same time, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, invited on Friday January 22 from BFM Business, has obviously tried to prepare the French for a new confinement and to cool their desires to leave. When journalist Christophe Jakubyszyn asks him if the French will be able to “Change region” at the next vacation, he replies as follows: “The virus is the permanent unexpected. I know this is very unpleasant, and for a sector like tourism, it is even a very big problem because there is a need for predictability, because there are schedules, reservations, etc. " The journalist resumes and questions him again: “Would you say to the French this morning, go ahead, get your train tickets for the February holidays? ” Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne warns: “Today I'm more on the cautious side, I say 'be careful'. We are at a time when certain indicators are going up, we will take a closer look in a few days (…) I urge caution (…) We are looking at the figures as they are, we are in a daily fight. ” The Secretary of State for Tourism has also called on his fellow citizens to avoid non-essential trips to Europe as much as possible, as requested the day before by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
Secretary of State for Tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne calls for caution when traveling during February holidays
?@chrisjaku, Sandra Gandoin, @JBLemoyne pic.twitter.com/dxkCKfpzJU
– BFM Business (@bfmbusiness) January 22, 2021
Read also : Extended or postponed February school holidays? Jean-Michel Blanquer's response