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Bars and restaurants in French holiday resorts face possibility of early closures as Covid cases rise

Bars and restaurants in many of France's popular coastal holiday resorts face the possibility of forced early closures as Covid case numbers rise sharply in certain areas.

Published: 21 July 2021 13:45 CEST
Bars and restaurants in French holiday resorts face possibility of early closures as Covid cases rise
Prime Minister Jean Castex, right, on the lunchtime news. Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP

A fourth wave of Covid cases, driven by the delta variant, is underway in France with coastal areas showing particularly sharp rises in cases.

Speaking after a meeting of the Defence Council on Wednesday morning, prime minister Jean Castex said it may be necessary to introduce more “braking measures” in areas that have high case numbers, including 11pm closures for bars and restaurants and the reinstatement of rules making masks mandatory in outdoor public spaces such as the streets.

However he added that the final decision would lie with local authorities, who have the power to take extra measures if they see a worrying rise in case numbers or more pressure on local hospital services.

The south west département of Pyrénées-Orientale, which has seen a big spike in cases, has already announced an order for bars and restaurants to close at 11pm, which came into force on Sunday.

Case numbers have been rising across France, but the rise is particularly marked along the south and west coastlines – popular destinations for both French and international holidaymakers.

On a national level, case numbers have risen 129 percent in just a week and four fifths of cases are now of the more contagious delta variant. The national incidence rate is now 84 cases per 100,000 people.

However hospitalisation rates remain, for the moment, low. Castex said that of the people developing the most severe forms of the virus, 96 percent are not fully vaccinated.

Since France began loosening restrictions, local authorities have had powers to impose new rules if the situation requires it. Several areas have made masks compulsory on the streets after the national rule on mask wearing was relaxed.

READ ALSO Which French towns have reimposed mask rules

From Wednesday the health passport scheme has been extended in France so that it now includes cultural and leisure spaces such as swimming pools, cinemas and tourist sites. For the full rules, click HERE.

Castex added that schools and college will begin vaccination drives when pupils return in September, but stressed that the health passport would not be necessary to go to school. A total of 11 vaccinations are already compulsory before children are enrolled in French schools, but for the moment the Covid vaccine will not be one of them.

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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