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HEALTH

Red or green: France reveals first version of map showing coronavirus situation by département

France on Thursday presented the first version of the map that will split the country into green and red zones, determining the severity of lockdown measures from May 11th.

Red or green: France reveals first version of map showing coronavirus situation by département
Health minister Olivier Véran. Photo: AFP

When he presented his plan for lifting the lockdown on Tuesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said that each of the country's 96 mainland départements would be given a colour – red or green – that determined how the lockdown would be lifted.

IN DETAIL France's plan for lifting lockdown after May 11th

The final designation for each départment will not be made until May 7th, but Health Minister Olivier Véran presented the first map live to the press on Thursday evening, stressing that the current presentation was just indicative and would be adapted in the weeks to come.

“This map is not changing anything about the current lockdown,” he said.

“There is absolutely no doubt that we still need lockdown now, stay home until May 11th.”

REVEALED The plan for life in France after May 11th

The first criteria is infection levels per département. Graphics: Santé Publique France

The idea is based on looser restrictions for départements where there are fewer cases of coronavirus and where local health services are coping well and tighter restrictions for areas where the virus is still prevalent and hospitals under pressure.

The situation in each département will be updated regularly after May 11th.

Three criteria are used to apply the red or green rating are;
  • The number of new cases being diagnosed
  • The capacity in local intensive care units 
  • Whether local authorities have a comprehensive testing and tracing programme in place

Véran's presentation on Thursday however only showed on two criteria – infections levels by départments and pressure on intensive care units per départment.

The second criteria is the pressure on intensive care services in hospitals

The initial maps showed 35 départements in red, almost all concentrated in the east of the country and the area around Paris.

The maps the health minister showed on Thursday contained orange zones in addition to green and read.

“There will be red and green zones, but we have included orange to show the areas that can shift to both colours before that date,” Véran said.

The combination of the two gives an initial rating to each départements, with orange showing those where the situation is uncertain

The goal was to give local authorities an idea of where they stood and what measures needed to be taken for them to turn into a green zone on May 11th.

It was still largely unclear what exactly the end of lockdown would mean for those départements coloured red in terms of the stricter restrictions which may still apply. 

Health Minister Olivier Veran said: “It will be possible if necessary to close schools, to close a certain number of shops and outdoor spaces.”

During his presentation to parliament Prime Minister Philippe stressed that the goal was to tailor measures to each area.

Philippe gave two concrete examples: secondary schools (colleges) and parks, gardens and open spaces would only reopen in green départements.

“Areas will be green or red, but everywhere there will be an intense discussion to adapt measures to local needs,” Philippe said.

“Its the partnership between local officials and actors on the ground that will let us steer clearly to manage the circulation of the virus,” he said.

France’s official coronavirus death toll on Thursday increased by 289 – 192 in hospitals and 98 deaths were registered in the country's nursing homes for elderly (Ehpad).

The country’s intensive care patients decreased by 188, said French Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon.

In total, France counts 24,376 coronavirus fatalities since the beginning of the epidemic. Of these 9,132 occurred in the country's Ehpad.

 

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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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