Athena Fokaidis, lived in 2007-2008
“I have a friend in Paris right now who is there for research. She is originally from the United States and is in limbo with regards to her visa status. Earlier during the pandemic, she would have liked to return home to quarantine with her family, however, her visa renewal was processing at the time that the consulate and visa services closed. Therefore, if she leaves the country, she does not know if she can return to France to finish her work. She lives alone in an apartment on the outskirts of Paris and has told me that she mostly stays inside. She leaves to do grocery shopping and will go out into the courtyard of her building. The lines for the supermarket and bakery are always long and she is concerned that not everyone is practicing social distancing. Since France and especially Paris is such an outdoor culture, people still sometimes congregate in parks and along the riverbanks even if they are not supposed to. My friend has also let me know that the pass people are required to fill out before leaving the house (for groceries, pharmacy, or exercise) has been a source of discrimination for some. In the beginning, the paper had to be printed and not everyone has internet or printers. Additionally, police would comment on the writing or French usage on the forms for people who are not born in France. My friend also alluded to the fact that stopping people for their identity cards and/or visa papers was already a form of symbolic violence exercised by the police. Apparently, at the beginning at least, the quarantine form that people now have to fill out became an extra excuse to stop people based on their appearance. Now, the form is electronic and people can pull it up on their phone. It is not clear whether the fact that it is electronic has reduced or exacerbated negative interactions between the public and the police.”
My spouse is French and his family is based out of central France during the quarantine. People like my sister and brother in law who live in Paris went to my in-laws' in central France about four hours from Paris. Everyone there has been in the same house, however, there is more space there than in Paris because it is the countryside. The region is not very populated in general, and even more so now, people stay in their homes. My father in law does the groceries and my in-laws do curbside pick-up where they order online ahead of time and someone comes to the car and puts the groceries in the trunk. This way, person to person interactions are greatly reduced. Because my in-laws are from a rural place, their day to day is occupied by outdoor activities like tending to the garden, working on home projects, and cooking. One thing that has changed their day today is the presence of my brother in law's two twins! Having the babies around has made the experience more tolerable and joyful even since everyone is occupied with watching the little ones.”
Country’s Response:
“I believe cases in France are still quite high as France was one of the earlier hotspots for COVID-19. In the beginning, I'm not sure that everyone was completely compliant even if the president ordered that gatherings be minimized from early on. My cousin in law, for example, saw that people at work still wanted to do the "bise" (kiss on the cheek) or shake hands and disregarded orders not to do so. Also, I had a conference I was supposed to attend in March in Paris and it was canceled only 3 days before it was to be held. I'm assuming that smaller conference organizers were still holding out in hopes that they would not be affected by restrictions.”
Learn More:
https://www.france24.com/en/
https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/coronavirus-covid-19
https://www.liberation.fr
“I have a friend in Paris right now who is there for research. She is originally from the United States and is in limbo with regards to her visa status. Earlier during the pandemic, she would have liked to return home to quarantine with her family, however, her visa renewal was processing at the time that the consulate and visa services closed. Therefore, if she leaves the country, she does not know if she can return to France to finish her work. She lives alone in an apartment on the outskirts of Paris and has told me that she mostly stays inside. She leaves to do grocery shopping and will go out into the courtyard of her building. The lines for the supermarket and bakery are always long and she is concerned that not everyone is practicing social distancing. Since France and especially Paris is such an outdoor culture, people still sometimes congregate in parks and along the riverbanks even if they are not supposed to. My friend has also let me know that the pass people are required to fill out before leaving the house (for groceries, pharmacy, or exercise) has been a source of discrimination for some. In the beginning, the paper had to be printed and not everyone has internet or printers. Additionally, police would comment on the writing or French usage on the forms for people who are not born in France. My friend also alluded to the fact that stopping people for their identity cards and/or visa papers was already a form of symbolic violence exercised by the police. Apparently, at the beginning at least, the quarantine form that people now have to fill out became an extra excuse to stop people based on their appearance. Now, the form is electronic and people can pull it up on their phone. It is not clear whether the fact that it is electronic has reduced or exacerbated negative interactions between the public and the police.”
My spouse is French and his family is based out of central France during the quarantine. People like my sister and brother in law who live in Paris went to my in-laws' in central France about four hours from Paris. Everyone there has been in the same house, however, there is more space there than in Paris because it is the countryside. The region is not very populated in general, and even more so now, people stay in their homes. My father in law does the groceries and my in-laws do curbside pick-up where they order online ahead of time and someone comes to the car and puts the groceries in the trunk. This way, person to person interactions are greatly reduced. Because my in-laws are from a rural place, their day to day is occupied by outdoor activities like tending to the garden, working on home projects, and cooking. One thing that has changed their day today is the presence of my brother in law's two twins! Having the babies around has made the experience more tolerable and joyful even since everyone is occupied with watching the little ones.”
Country’s Response:
“I believe cases in France are still quite high as France was one of the earlier hotspots for COVID-19. In the beginning, I'm not sure that everyone was completely compliant even if the president ordered that gatherings be minimized from early on. My cousin in law, for example, saw that people at work still wanted to do the "bise" (kiss on the cheek) or shake hands and disregarded orders not to do so. Also, I had a conference I was supposed to attend in March in Paris and it was canceled only 3 days before it was to be held. I'm assuming that smaller conference organizers were still holding out in hopes that they would not be affected by restrictions.”
Learn More:
https://www.france24.com/en/
https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/coronavirus-covid-19
https://www.liberation.fr