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DISNEYLAND PARIS

‘We’re getting back to normal’: Crowds return to Disneyland Paris as France goes mask-free

As people in France enjoy being outside without face masks for the first time since last autumn, crowds returned to Disneyland Paris, which reopened its doors after an eight-month hiatus.

Masked crowds in Paris will be a thing of the past, as coronavirus restrictions continue to loosen
Ludovic MARIN / AFP

The easing of coronavirus rules on Thursday came as authorities hailed a rapid decline in new cases on the eve of summer holidays, raising hopes for a more vibrant and relaxed tourist season.

“I’m happy, it frees us a little bit,” said Aicha Drame, a student in the capital, where roughly half of pedestrians on many busy streets enjoyed the new-found freedom. “We’re getting back to normal and it feels good,” she told AFP.

The nationwide curfew of 11 pm will be lifted ahead of schedule on Sunday, the government announced Wednesday, reinforcing a sense that France’s vaccination drive is starting to pay off.

READ MORE: Where do you still need to wear a face mask in France?

Health Minister Olivier Veran said 60 percent of adults have now received at least one Covid jab, and youths 12 and over are now eligible as well.

But he urged people to continue wearing masks outdoors, in particular in crowded areas. “It doesn’t mean you can’t wear it, if you want to protect yourself,” he told BFM television.

Miriam Rofael, an American lawyer visiting from California, continued to wear a mauve mask that matched her top as she crossed a bridge over the Seine.

“I trust the science and I trust that I’m protected,” she said, but acknowledged that “It is easier if it’s hot, not to have to wear it.”

Camille Wodling, a photographer, was not only savouring the sun at a table outside a cafe.

“Seeing strangers without a mask, you want to stop and take a good look at their face. And then you see smiles, it’s good to see people smile,” she said.

Showtime

Mickey and Minnie Mouse led the re-opening party for hundreds of families at Disneyland Paris, Europe’s biggest tourist attraction, which has been shut since October 30.   

For the past weeks one of the park’s conference centres has served as a mass Covid vaccination site.

As costumed park employees danced and sang, others walked through the crowds carrying reminders to keep at least one metre (three feet) from others.

Masks remain required wearing as well, even on the vast boulevards stretching between rides, and attendance has been capped for now.

READ MORE: What’s changed for France’s Fête de la Musique this year?

“I’ve really been looking forward to the opening of Disney, the joy, seeing people smile again – there are still masks but it’s really, really great to be here,” said Cynthia Castanier, who made the journey from the eastern suburbs of Paris.

For Lea Leroux, who lives in Paris, it was the perfect day to rediscover “the magic of Disney, this world all its own.”

“It’s incredibly important for everyone – we need to get back to life almost as normal, with some changes maybe but we need to be here,” she said.

Member comments

  1. What a surprise. It’s holiday season with July and August around the corner. The same thing happened last year and look what happened later in the year.

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HEALTH

France’s Covid-19 app to be ‘put to sleep’

France's Covid-tracker app, used for months for the all-important 'health pass' will be switched off today, health officials have confirmed.

France’s Covid-19 app to be 'put to sleep'

Covid-19 screening in France reaches an important milestone on Friday, June 30th, 2023 – when the TousAntiCovid app is officially ‘put to sleep’.

The app, which was launched in June 2020 as France came out of its first lockdown of the pandemic and has undergone a number of iterations, including as a delivery device for the health pass, will be switched off. 

For most people, this anniversary will pass without mention. Few people have consulted the app in recent months, and it has sat dormant on many smartphones since France’s Covid-19 health pass requirement was suspended in March 2022.

Meanwhile, the Système d’Informations de DEPistage (SI-DEP) interface – which has been informing people about their test results since the Spring of 2020 – is also being shut down on June 30th, as per legal requirements.

The SI-DEP shutdown means that it will also be impossible to retrieve Covid test certificates issued before June 30th, should the need arise. All data held by the database will be “destroyed”, officials have said.

It has handled more than 320 million antigen and PCR tests since it was introduced.

This does not mean that testing for Covid-19 has stopped, or is now unnecessary. As reported recently, more than 1,000 deaths a week in Europe are still caused by the virus.

The shutdown of the national information system does not mean that people in France cannot still book an appointment for an antigen test at a pharmacy, or a PCR test at a laboratory. But the number of people going for testing is declining rapidly. In recent days, according to Le Parisien, just 15,000 people in France took a Covid test – the lowest number, it said, since the pandemic started.

Reimbursement rules for testing changed on March 1st, with only certain categories of people – minors, those aged 65 and over, or immunosuppressed patients – covered for the entire cost of testing.

From Friday, only PCR test results will be transmitted to authorities for data purposes, meaning pharmacists that only offer antigen testing will be locked out of the online interface to record test results.

The reason for the shift in priorities is to maintain “minimal epidemiological surveillance”, the Ministry of Health has reportedly told scientists.

As a result test certificates, showing a positive or negative result, will no longer be issued from July 1st. Since February 1st, anyone taking a test has had to give consent to share their data in order to obtain a certificate. 

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