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HEALTH

Coronavirus: French health workers to get free train travel while Paris mayor raises alarm over busy markets

French health workers responding to calls to reinforce overwhelmed hospitals will get free transport on trains, the state rail operator SNCF said on Monday while the mayor of Paris raises alarm about busy markets.

Coronavirus: French health workers to get free train travel while Paris mayor raises alarm over busy markets
French health workers responding to calls to reinforce overwhelmed hospitals will get free transport on trains, the state rail operator SNCF said on Monday. AFP

Doctors, nurses and aid workers are in short supply in Paris and in other areas suffering the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak, which has now caused 860 deaths in France.

Medical workers who can prove they are travelling for work will ride for free, even as rail services were slashed after a nationwide stay-at-home order to curb the outbreak, the head of SNCF Voyages, Alain Krakovitch, told AFP. 

“The SNCF should be showing solidarity with aid workers,” he said.

Officials in eastern France have also made local train and bus services free for health workers, and the mayor of the Mediterranean city of Nice said Sunday that public buses were now exclusively for the use of health workers.

French energy giant Total said Monday it was offering hospitals fuel vouchers to distribute to health workers for use at its network of petrol stations, a donation worth up to €50 million ($54 million).

With hospitals already overwhelmed by 7,240 coronavirus patients, the military has stepped in to transfer sick people from the worst-hit regions and set up field hospitals.

Doctors have urged officials to extend and possibly tighten the confinement measures keeping people at home, and a scientific advisory panel set up by President Emmanuel Macron is set to give an opinion shortly, an Elysee Palace official said.

Several cities have imposed curfews in recent days, though the measure has not yet been ordered for Paris, where outdoor food markets were held as usual over the weekend, albeit with stepped-up police patrols.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Monday that she had asked the Paris police chief to evaluate the risks of keeping the markets open, after crowds thronged markets in the city's working-class neighbourhoods of Barbès and Belleville.

Later on Monday French PM Edouard Philippe told TV viewers that pen air markets would be closed although local authorities could apply to keep them open in special cases.

On Sunday, France's parliament declared a health emergency for a two-month period, giving the government greater powers to fight the pandemic.

The law allows the government to take measures to support companies and backs up its decision to delay the second round of municipal elections.

The government has also increased fines for leaving home without a valid reason, with the penalty for a second offence now €1,500 ($1,600).

Police said nearly 1.8 million checks have been carried out since the confinement was imposed last Tuesday, with nearly 92,000 fines issued.

Government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said on Sunday that a confinement extension was “likely”, while Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said schools were unlikely to resume before May 4.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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