France Enters Partial Lockdown

France will enter lockdown for four weeks, particularly impacting Paris and urban centers. (Flickr)

The French government announced new restrictions and lockdown measures beginning on March 19 and lasting at least four weeks. The new regulations mainly affect metropolitan France, particularly Paris, and certain departments. French President Emmanuel Macron imposed these new restrictions after reporting more than 35,000 new cases on March 18 and seeing a slowdown in the vaccine rollout with the controversy around the AstraZeneca vaccine. 

France first went into lockdown in March 2020 after the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Europe. After the detection of a new strain of the virus in the U.K., Europe faced another wave, with the dominant variant composing 75 percent of France’s cases the day before the new restrictions. With the new wave, intensive care units face increasing pressure as cases rise and space fills. 

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that the restrictions would take effect in two regions, Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France, which the pandemic hit the hardest. Among these measures are curfew rules, work-from-home restrictions, and the closing of nonessential shops and services. Schools will remain open but must implement a mixed strategy of in-person and online school in areas with lockdown measures while universities remain online. The restrictions also limit travel between regions.

France is not alone in its restrictions; many other European countries are joining it in introducing new lockdown measures or maintaining previous ones. With slow vaccine rollout, the situation in France has only worsened. The measures allow France to control the spread of the virus as they work to resume the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the European Medicines Agency declared it was safe. If cases do not slow, the entire country may be subject to these new restrictions.

The lockdown requirements face criticism from the public due to the nature and timing of the restrictions. Many doctors disagree with Macron’s decision to wait until March to begin the lockdown, citing the pressure on hospitals caused by the lack of an earlier lockdown. Additionally, the new restrictions face criticism over which businesses are allowed to remain open versus those that have to close. French citizens are unhappy with businesses closing at all, such as the mayor of Yerres, a town outside Paris, who defied the restrictions by telling businesses to stay open.

The clash between economic concerns and stopping the spread of the virus continues to impact France. With the ability to increase vaccination rates, there is hope that these restrictions will be lifted soon. However, with the slow pace of vaccinations in Europe and the lack of national restrictions, the lockdown may last longer and become more restrictive.