No beer at the counter or sandwich on the TGV: what am I allowed to do or not in January?

No more arm leaning on the counter and popcorns at the movies. To curb the explosion of Omicron variant contaminations, the government announced several restrictions on Monday evening, with very concrete implications for your daily life.

Thus, from January 3, and for three weeks, it will no longer be possible to consume standing in bars, cafes and restaurants, in order to limit the interactions likely to accelerate contamination. For the same reasons, feeding will no longer be an option in many places subject to mask use, including transport.

Until now, everyone could take off their mask to consume. This tolerance is now ruled out by the government, at least in certain circumstances.

Starting with the small glass at the counter. “Consumption in bars and cafes will no longer be able to be done standing up, but only in a seated manner”, Jean Castex decreed Monday evening, after a Defense Council and a Council of Ministers. However, the government has decided not to impose a gauge there, unlike large gatherings where attendance will be reduced.

Also from Monday, “the consumption of food and drink will be prohibited in all cinemas, theaters, sports facilities and public transport, including long distance”, added the Prime Minister. According to these guidelines, it will no longer be possible to stuff yourself with sweets in front of the last box office film. Exit, therefore, the popcorn. Or a little drink – even without alcohol – at the stadium in front of a football match.

We recap: it will therefore be possible to drink seated in a bar, but not to drink seated in a train, in a cinema or at a concert.

On Twitter, several Internet users find these measures difficult to apply, especially for journeys of several hours by train. “I’m taking the train in 10 days, La Rochelle-Nice, 11 hours by train, what do I do, I lock myself in the toilets to have a snack?”, wonders one of them, when a second is worried about the situation for the little ones. “I believe that Jean Castex has never taken the train with children. Train for children = water, sandwiches, chips, madeleines and sweets. Otherwise, it bawls.”

Others prefer to play the humor card. “If you think I am going to spend several hours on a train without eating, you are dreaming”, quips a surfer on the network.

This Tuesday, the cabinet of Matignon tries to reassure. Measures “will apply with discernment especially for young children and for water consumption” for long distance journeys, he explains. The youngest will therefore be able to eat and all travelers can quench their thirst without worry, provided they stay in their place. But in order to feed, the adults will have to wait until they have reached their destination, even if they have to cross France.

Clarification brought to TF1 on Wednesday by the Ministry of Transport: the ban on eating and drinking also applies in the case of carpooling.