To fight against the fifth wave of Covid, the government announced on Monday the ban on eating and drinking in public transport. Faced with the outcry, the Ministry of Transport had to concede that this measure should be applied “with discernment”.
Would the maniac lobby yelling at the chip-eaters in the train cars have won the game? In the radius of the baroque decisions aimed at curbing the spread of the epidemic announced Monday evening, there is one that did not fail to react. “The consumption of food and drink will be prohibited in all cinemas, theaters, sports facilities and public transport, including long distance”, listed Jean Castex during a press conference alongside the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.
Prohibited the sip of water during the eight-hour flight between Paris and New York? No more dragibuses in a crowded TGV between Lille and Bordeaux? Nay! “On long-distance journeys, this measure will be applied with discernment, in particular for young children and to allow them to quench their thirst”, the Ministry of Transport told Agence France-Presse. Let’s breathe. The bottle yes, the cakes no? On social networks, the hashtag #absurdistan has resurfaced, often used by elected officials or right-wing activists. A return to the early hours of the epidemic, when the executive was floundering in convoluted decisions, such as the wearing of the obligatory mask in certain streets of the capital, and not in others, or the control of skiers at the borders …
Anti-snack poster campaign?
The carriers, for their part, await the decree implementing the measures announced. SNCF has already indicated that it will apply the measures decided by the government. In the trains, the bar wagons were closed between March and July 2020, then again from November to June. Air France has also indicated that it is waiting for the decree “To see what changes to make to the organization of the service offered on board”. The future of meal trays is at stake. According to the Ministry of Transport, the ban on eating and drinking will only apply to domestic flights.
The public transport operator Keolis (SNCF), which operates the subways and trams in Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux and Rennes in particular, is planning poster campaigns and audio announcements to remind people that we are not allowed to eat, according to a spokesperson. At Liberation, we have lots of ideas, like “You don’t travel with your mouth full”? For its part, the Ministry of Transport indicated that these new measures, which will come into force next week, would be “Susceptible to control”.
“Ridiculous” measures
The government’s announcement sparked ridicule from internet users. And a new crisis of urticaria from politicians. “How can we accept such ridiculous measures as the ban on dancing, drinking while standing, eating on a train or the obligation to wear a mask in the street?”, squeaked the boss of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, on Twitter.
What does the government expect from such a measure? Undoubtedly encourage users to scrupulously respect the wearing of masks in transport. Isn’t that already the case? While the omicron variant is progressing at an infernal pace, the government wants to give itself all the means to slow it down. To do this, quit struggling for the umpteenth time with the image of a Kafkaesque bureaucratization …