Mega-pixelsFaces exposed by scorching temperatures, the French met in Paris and Toulouse were delighted Thursday to be able to enjoy a newfound freedom and keep their mask in a pocket.
“We breathe”, “We can finally breathe”, “We live again”. The same words of relief return like a jovial refrain, often accompanied by a smile. With, always, this indefinite pronoun: this “one” synonymous with a society which has gone through a long common trial. As after an interminable apnea that lasted more than a year, the lungs can again inflate more lightly with the end of the obligation to wear the mask outside, which began on Thursday, June 17.
The wearing of the mask in the big French cities had been imposed during the month August 2020, the decision and the scope of application being left to the discretion of the mayors and prefects. So, after months of daily efforts, the faces of the French crossed Thursday in Paris and Toulouse sweat joy and display a feeling of freedom found since the announcements of the Prime Minister the day before. If the scientists invite to continue to respect basic barrier gestures such as hand washing or social distancing, they agree on the fact that wearing a mask outdoors does not present “Not much interest” to fight effectively against the virus, according to epidemiologist Antoine Flahault.
If the masks have not entirely disappeared in the streets of the capital, more and more people wear them in the hand, on the wrist, or even lowered on the chin. Just out of her train from Lyon, Marie-Françoise, 78, mask hanging from her elbow, must find her grandson on the forecourt of the Gare de Lyon. She gets impatient, but the idea of “To live again normally” makes her happy. “There’s no denying it, it’s nice to have your nose in the air! We were suffocating with these masks, even if we had ended up getting used to them because it reassured us. »His grandson, Andy, having joined him in the meantime, is delighted at the idea “To talk better, meet, flirt, in short, regain socialization after a complicated year”.
Lipstick
A few kilometers away, Heïdi, a Frenchwoman of Norwegian origin, must join a friend on the terrace of a restaurant on the heights of the Belleville district, in the 20e district of Paris. The forty-something brought him “The most beautiful gift to celebrate this day of rediscovered freedom” : lipstick. “We haven’t been able to wear it for months, so it’s a pretty symbol”, she slips.
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