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Coronavirus LATEST: France’s elderly urged to stay home as Disneyland Paris closes gates

The coronavirus outbreak continued to have a huge impact on life in France on Friday as President Emmanuel Macron announced schools are to close and urged over-70s to remain in doors. Disneyland Paris also closed its gates.

Published: 5 March 2020 20:39 CET
Updated: 13 March 2020 09:02 CET

Coronavirus LATEST: France's elderly urged to stay home as Disneyland Paris closes gates

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the country on Thursday. Photo: AFP

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in France topped 2,870 on Thursday and the death toll reached 61, French President Emmanuel Macron announced new measures to contain the spread in the country.

“I want to be very clear with you tonight,” Macron said during a televised speech on Thursday evening. “We are only at the beginning of the epidemic.”

The president urged anyone aged over 70, disabled or in poor health to stay at home and limit social contact as much as possible. Starting Monday, all schools in the country will close their doors for an unspecified amount of time.

“The education sector has entered stage 3,” education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer confirmed on Friday morning.

Just 24 hours earlier Blanquer had said that the government “never envisaged” closing all of the country's schools, because it would be “counter-productive” to “paralyse a large part of the country.”

While President had not said whether the country had entered stage 3 – a full-blown epidemic status – although he had previously said that France was very close to such a state.

“We have anticipated, we are prepared and we have excellent staff,” Macron said as he visited a hospital earlier this week.

On Friday, the popular tourist park Disneyland Paris announced that it would temporarily shut its gates, after three of its staff tested positive for the coronavirus this week. The decision came after the park had previously said it would remain open to visitors but with “temporary adjustments” to its cancellation policy for anyone wishing to cancel reservation at the Disney Hotel through April 15th.

The country also suspended all matches in its top football divisions. The country's professional rugby league also announced a suspension.

France is also included in the list of Schengen zone countries which the USA has banned flights from. Many aspects of the ban, announced by US president Donald Trump on Wednesday night, are still unclear but it seems that American citizens are not covered, nor are flights via the UK.

Health minister Olivier Véran said on Wednesday night that 105 people were in hospital in a serious condition.

French Health Director Jérôme Salomon has previously stressed that so far, 98 percent of people diagnosed with coronavirus in France make a full recovery.

France had already enacted restrictions on gatherings of more than 1,000 people and the 10 'cluster' zones where the majority of cases have been diagnosed have strict restrictions on any type of public gathering.

However the first round of the municipal elections will go ahead as planned on Sunday, President Macron confirmed on Thursday evening.

“There is nothing to suggest the French shouldn't go to the polls,” he said, refuting claims that the elections could not be held because people would abstain from voting out of fear of the virus.

READ ALSO: How coronavirus fear could impact the municipal elections in France

Areas now considered 'cluster' zones are; Mulhouse in the Haut-Rhin département in eastern France, Oise in the north east, Morbihan in Brittany, two areas in Haute-Savoie in the Alps, the entire island of Corsica,the Aude département in southern France, Calvados in Normandy and eastern Montpellier.

A tenth cluster was a tour group that had travelled to Egypt, with 13 people testing positive for the infection.

Schools in the Oise and Haut-Rhin département have been closed for a week, and the island of Corsica followed suit as well as 16 communes in the eastern part of Montpellier and the surrounding Hérault département.

Corsica, which did not initially record any cases, has now confirmed 51 cases and a cluster around the capital Ajaccio. On Thursday morning the prefect of Corsica announced that all gatherings of more than 50 people would be banned until April 15th.

MAP: Which regions of France are most affected by coronavirus?

President Emmanuel Macron visiting the Necker hospital in Paris on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

French authorities have been clear since the outbreak first began in Italy that a full epidemic in France is only a matter of time, and have concentrated their efforts on delaying the peak of the spread of the virus.

Macron on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to the “wonderful and courageous” medical services and asked that people continue to “show solidarity” to the most vulnerable in society by following health advice including washing hands and self isolating if necessary.

Five French MPs plus Culture Minister Franck Riester and two staff members at the parliament have also tested positive for coronavirus. The Assemblée Nationale is already on a scheduled break over the period of the municipal elections.

Riester has contracted the novel coronavirus and is staying in his Paris home but is “doing fine”, his office said Monday.

“The minister tested positive today,” after displaying symptoms, the ministry said.

French health minister Olivier Véran. Photo: AFP

All gatherings of more than 1,000 have been banned, a step that will have a huge impact on cultural life in France with numerous concert halls and venues across the country having to postpone upcoming concerts.

Public transport is not covered by the ban, nor are demonstrations.

France had already passed a decree that anyone who is following government advice to self isolate, or whose children are unable to go to school because of coronavirus, is entitled to paid sick leave.

President Emmanuel Macron had said people should “protect the most vulnerable” and stop visiting older people during the outbreak.

Coronavirus: Emmanuel Macron appelle à “éviter de visiter nos anciens” pic.twitter.com/e9AmcCNiO7

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 6, 2020

France has also banned visits to the country's retirement homes.

Concerts including performances at the Paris Opéra have been cancelled but Paris' largest tourist attractions including the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay remain open, albeit with limits in place on the number of visitors.

Macron has cancelled his normal schedule to deal with the outbreak (and not, the Elysée Palace rushed to reassure people, because he has coronavirus himself).

French ministers have warned against all non-essential travel – especially outside the EU – and advised people in France to stop shaking hands and doing la bise (greeting with a kiss on each cheek) in an attempt to control the infection.

A man wearing a protective mask shops in the market of Crepy-in-Valois before its evacuation following the outbreak of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus. Photo: AFP

The government has requisitioned the country's stocks of masks to distribute to health professionals and people self isolating, in a bid to stop people panic buying and creating shortages for those who need them.

Health minister Véran has said “masks are indispensable” in hospitals, but “pointless” for anyone who is not themselves either a health worker or contaminated by the virus.

Fears of catching the virus have sparked a run on masks as well as sanitising hand gel in France, leading some stores and online retailers to hike prices.

The price of hand sanitser was capped last week by government decree a €3 per 100ml.

French police officers evacuate the market of Crepy-in-Valois on March 1, 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus. Photo: AFP

Member comments

Anonymous - 1 March 2020 at 21:24 CET

Please read this … and STOP panicking.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2020/02/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-coronavirus-is-the-hysteria/
Anonymous - 7 March 2020 at 18:50 CET

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Friday night that all schools, colleges and nurseries
Why not churches?
Anonymous - 10 March 2020 at 07:27 CET

Italy has the right idea.
Anonymous - 10 March 2020 at 08:51 CET

There is no panic in France from what I have seen. The French authorities have demonstrated good leadership when it comes to dealing with this outbreak and life is going on pretty much as normal here (we are on the Finistere, Morbihan border), especially when compared to the UK/Australia/USA.
Anonymous - 10 March 2020 at 15:29 CET

Oh, boggy, in what sense?
Anonymous - 11 March 2020 at 09:26 CET

Chez Moi. Total lock down or at the very least reduce public gatherings to 100 or less curtail transport between countries to commercial freight only.
Anonymous - 12 March 2020 at 08:37 CET

Huh, boggy? France has no such down, yet the reported cases are VERY low compared to Italy. The only problem I see that is idiot in the white house. As usual.
Anonymous - 12 March 2020 at 16:10 CET

Chez Moi, Americans living in France and totality agree about the idiot living in the White House.
Anonymous - 12 March 2020 at 20:04 CET

More unnecessary panic!
GET REAL!
Someone, please, get that f——g cretin out of the white house.
This latest travel ban is so HIM – CLUELESS!

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Explained: How dangerous are French heatwaves?

A recent report highlighted the potential risks to athletes’ health if this summer’s Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games take place during a heatwave. The report, backed by climate scientists and athletes, warned of the potentially fatal risks of high temperatures at this year’s Games.

While most people are unlikely to be trying to break a 100m record during a heatwave – or any other time in fact – high temperatures bring with them serious risks to health.

Mercury rising

Any temperatures in France are getting higher, the country has endured a series of record heatwaves in recent years.

The all-time temperature record for Paris is 42.6C, set during a heatwave in 2019. It’s entirely possible this record won’t last long – 2022 was the hottest year on record in France, with a record 33 days meeting officially defined heatwave conditions: five in June and 14 in both July and August.

Vérargues, in the southern Hérault département, holds the highest recorded temperature in France – 46C set on June 28th, 2019.

The highest national average temperatures in France were recorded later in the year: August 5th, 2003, saw an average national temperature of 29.47C, followed by July 25th, 2019, when the average daily temperature was 29.4C.

And remember – air conditioning is not standard in French homes.

Health risks

There is no question that heatwaves can be fatal – some 400 people died in France in a two-week heatwave in August 2023 when new local temperature records were set around the country, according to public health data.

Over the whole of last summer, some 5,000 excess deaths were recorded between June 1st and September 15th, 2023, of which 1,500 were attributed to the heat.

Over the same period, nearly 20,000 heat-related emergency calls were recorded, according to a report by Santé Publique France published in February this year, and 10,600 additional hospitalisations followed a visit to the emergency department during periods of high temperature.

The risk is highest among the elderly or people with chronic health conditions, but also at risk are outdoor workers and people exercising – including hiking – during the hottest part of the day.

The government issues weather warnings – ranging from yellow (be aware) to red (potential risk to life) during heatwaves and we would strongly advise people to take notice and follow the advice, even if you come from a hot country.

Climate trends

And it seems that the situation is not going to get better soon, even if the response has improved.

“By the end of the century, heatwaves will be more frequent, more intense, and spread over a period from May to October,” warned France’s Haut Conseil pour le climat (High Council for the Climate) in a report in 2021.

Around 80 percent of the French population will experience 16 to 29 abnormally hot days each year over the three decades to come, as climate change takes hold according to a 2022 study by national statistics institute Insee – with Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Occitanie the most affected regions.

It estimates that more than 9 million people will have to endure more than 20 extremely hot days each year in the years to come. Nighttime temperatures will also rise, with some areas seeing up to 19 abnormally hot nights each year, compared to seven between 1976 and 2005.

The phenomenon of ‘tropical nights’ – where the temperature does not drop below 23C even at night – is linked to sleepless nights and heat stress, as the body does not get the chance to cool itself.

Meanwhile, Santé Publique France’s figures underline the impact of high temperatures during heatwaves, it said, and confirmed the need for measures throughout the country, and for a reinforced strategy of adaptation to climate change, to reduce the impact of heat on health.

The unusual Pentecôte public holiday in France, when many people work ‘for free’ by donating that day’s salary a government ‘solidarity fund’ for the elderly, was introduced in 2005 following the disastrous 2003 heatwave, when more than 15,000 French people, most of them elderly, died in the sweltering temperatures.

Heat islands

The particular problem with Paris – and other major conurbations – is that it is a noted ‘urban heat island’, where temperatures can be up to 10C warmer than in the surrounding countryside, due to a combination of human activities, concrete surfaces that reflect heat, and heat pollution such as air conditioning units and cars.

The phenomenon also leads to significantly warmer nighttime temperatures, as heat accumulates during the day but cannot escape in the same way it might in a less dense environment – making for sticky nights that make it hard to sleep and increase the effects of heat stress, especially among the elderly or ill.

Emergency plans

One thing that has improved in recent years is how France deals with its heatwaves.

After 2003’s fatal summer, the French government introduced new protocols to protect the public whenever the temperature rises above a certain threshold.

Today, when the temperature soars, the government issues health advice on staying safe, which includes: drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated, staying indoors during the hottest part of the day (afternoon and early evening), keeping in the shade, exercising only during the coolest parts of the day (early morning and late nights) and eating regular meals.

Most cities now have heatwave plans. Parks stay open at night and ‘cool rooms’ open up to give those in at-risk groups a chance to be taken somewhere they can cool down.

Fire risk

Extreme temperatures and long periods without rain also increase the risk of wildfires.

The year 2022 was the worst on record for wildfires in France. In total 72,000 hectares, or an area seven times the size of Paris, burned over the summer.

Overall, 90 percent of fires are caused by humans – either deliberately or accidentally. But while casually throwing away a cigarette is objectively dumb, heatwaves can – and do – increase the risk of fires.

Where weather conditions do have a major effect is in turning what would perhaps have been a containable fire into a wildfire that devours thousands of hectares of ground and prompt evacuations.

High temperatures make it more likely that fires will start, but drought conditions cause these fires to spread – parched vegetation with no moisture catches extremely easily. In the height of summer, large parts of the south of France are particularly at risk of wildfires.

This is far from a new phenomenon. It’s why there has always been a wildfire ‘season’ in the hottest months of the year and why wildfires are much less common – though not unheard of – in winter.

In October 1970, 11 people died in a wildfire near France’s far southeastern border with Italy and in 1985 an inferno in the same area killed five volunteer firefighters.

Deaths are more unusual today, thanks to improved techniques and technology, but the fires themselves are getting more common, bigger and occur over a wider geographical area.

Poor air quality resulting from wildfire smoke can be a serious health risk to those with respiratory conditions.

If you live in an area where wildfires are common, make sure you sign up to the government emergency text alert system so you get the latest advice on whether you need to evacuate. You can also keep track of the risk of wildfire in your area by checking the government’s forest fire map, which is updated daily.

And you have legal obligations, too, relating to keeping your property as clear as possible of fire hazards during key wildfire periods.

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