After hesitating and hinting that the end of confinement would be “according to the sectors of activity or according to the regions”, Emmanuel Macron finally changed course. The deconfinement will not be done by region and the post-May 11 project will be presented to the population on Tuesday April 28.
- Emmanuel Macron has decided: the deconfinement will not ultimately be done by region
- A global plan will be presented on April 28
The Élysée hesitated before deciding yesterday: no, the deconfinement will not be regionalized. Scheduled for May 11, in just under three weeks, this lifting of confinement, imposed on the population since March 17, is a headache for the government. This Wednesday, each minister gave Matignon the deconfinement plans by sector which will have to be integrated into a global project for after May 11.
Adapt to “realities of each territory”
The first indications of the deconfinement plan went in the direction of an exit from confinement by region. Visiting Finistère this Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron expressed himself in this sense. “There may be some topics, stages that can happen faster in places where the virus has not spreadhe admitted. We are preparing a second stage, which we do not know how long it will last, which will be progressive, concerted, sometimes slow, perhaps differentiated according to the sectors of activity or according to the regions more or less affected..” In the manner of the possibilities of derogation concerning the opening of certain markets on the territory, “the president now wants to move forward on a logic differentiated by territory”, then advances a relative, quoted by The world.
This Thursday, the Élysée has backtracked somewhat, announcing that the deconfinement will not be “regionalized” but will adapt to “realities of each territory.” The idea that now holds the rope is that of national decisions that will have to be flexible. This follows a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and mayors on post-May 11 implementation. Thus, no travel restrictions between regions should be put in place. The regionalized deconfinement scenario was desired by local elected officials. Hervé Morin, president of the Normandy region, had thus spoken in this sense on Wednesday April 22 on Europe 1: “AT from the moment we know that we are going to live with the virus for months, we must ensure that we can free up as much as possible of the economic sectors prohibited from activity, since the pandemic has not been significant.”
A deconfinement plan presented to the population on April 28
The regionalized deconfinement poses many questions and constraints which prompted the Élysée not to choose this option. The logistics of organizing deconfinement by region raises the question of who decides since France is not a federal state like in Germany where deconfinement by Länder, their equivalent of our regions, is the rule. “We do not entrust the deconfinement to local elected officials: we discuss, we adjust, we take into account the local reality. It is good that the strategy is decided at the central level and then declined at the local level”, entrusted an adviser to the Head of State to the World.
A more precise deconfinement plan should be communicated on Tuesday April 28 before the overall project is examined on May 6 by the Council of Ministers. This deconfinement is based on two principles, mentioned at a press conference on April 19 by Prime Minister Édouard Philippe: “preserve the health of the French” and “ensure the continuity of the life of the nation”. The details of this plan are not known but as Édouard Philippe explained during this press conference: “Thedeconfinement is not a return to the situation that prevailed before (…) it is a more progressive mechanism”.
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