Two minutes before 6 p.m. – people are running home.
And now the time has come: my beloved Greifswalders will have a curfew from Monday on. Let me tell you about the curfew in France to prepare you for what’s to come.
I arrived 37 Minutes after curfew on my first day in France: The 10th of January at 18:37. On January the 8th the district offices of the regions Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin decided to have an earlier curfew, not at 20:00 anymore, but at 18:00 – the rule was implemented exactly on Sunday, the 10th of January.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines “curfew” as “a rule that everyone must stay at home between particular times, usually at night, especially during a war or a period of political trouble.” Since the French president Emmanuel Macron stated in March 2020 that “we are in war” against the Coronavirus, it is probably a good definition of the term “curfew”.
Also, for my language geeks out there: The English word “curfew” actually comes from the old French language. In French it is “couvre-feu“ – we see a similarity!
Rules
One week after my arrival in France, the curfew for the whole metropolitan area in France was moved to 18:00 instead of 20:00. That means between 18:00 and 6:00 you should not go outside your house. Otherwise you could get a fine of 135€. Of course, there are some exceptions: going to or from work, coming from a long-distance travel (which was my case on the 10th of January), walking your dog and a few more. If you have to go outside after 18:00 you should carry a special form to proof your reason with you.
You can find the form in the government’s website, some newspapers also print attestation templates, or you can fill it out directly in the “TousAntiCovid”-app – the French contact tracking app (“All Against Covid”).
Running home
In the first three weeks of my internship, I am allowed to go to the office, to get used to the work and get to know the working environment a bit better. Also, there is only one other colleague on the opposite side of the room with me if there even is someone at all. Most often, I work until 17:00 or 17:30, so I have to rush from work to get home on time. The most annoying thing about that is grocery shopping – as supermarkets, of course, are also only open until 18:00. That’s why they are most times full of people just before 18:00, which to me seems to have the exact opposite effect the curfew should actually have. More people are crowded at small places in a shorter time period.
But because of the attestation and my work contract, I could go home after 18:00 – without food though.
What to do
People who know me, know that I love walks outside. That is how I spent most of 2020: strolling around. Most often in the evening. Now with my working schedule and the curfew at 18:00, I cannot even go for a walk in the evening anymore. Normally, I use my way to and from work to walk along the river. Still, there are those days when I am in a rush. Or I need that time for important things like getting food.
So, I am slowly going insane without some fresh air in my brain. What do I do after 18:00, after I arrived at home?
I eat and I call a lot of people. And I learn about the French language and create memes about that.
So, my message to my beloved Greifswalders: Have fun with the curfew starting at 21:00 and call me so that we can go insane together!
Photo: Strasbourg 15.01.2021, 17:58; taken by me