It came to no one’s surprise that the French government announced that the lockdown is going to last longer than the original April 15th date given two weeks ago. They can’t say right now how long it will last, but most assume it will be several more weeks, at a minimum. Batten down the hatches…at least we’ve all got enough toilet paper. 😉
But Wine and Ice Cream Will Have to Wait
I’ll admit I went out food shopping for things that are probably not considered essential: wine and Ben & Jerry’s dairy-free chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. The former I can find anywhere, but the latter I’ve only seen in two of the supermarkets near me, and I haven’t seen any during the last two food shopping trips under lockdown. As today’s the 25th day under lockdown for me, I thought it would be fun to celebrate with friends (online of course) with ice cream and wine (red, yeah), but I didn’t finish work until 7pm and by the time I had dressed and made it out to my usual haunts it was 7:30pm. And they didn’t have the ice cream. Because “I can get wine anywhere” and thought the shops right next to my square would be open their usual hours, I took my time strolling back, pausing for the nightly applause with my neighbors from their windows, before I realized all of the shops, even the little convenience store that’s always open, were not. So…I’ll just have to wait for tomorrow! It’s nice to have something to look forward to, right? Unless, of course…
A Strike under Lockdown?
Parisians will do what Parisians do best: go on strike! Or at least threaten to go on strike. The CGT union representing supermarket employees have called for workers to go on strike this week to protest the lack of adequate protection against coronavirus, citing two deaths in the past week. I didn’t notice any of the supermarkets in my neighborhood closed today, so if any of the workers are participating in the strike, I haven’t seen it affect anything in this corner of Paris. Most — but not all — of the supermarkets have big plastic barriers to protect the workers at the cash registers, but there is still a shortage of masks, hand sanitizer, and most recently, gloves. Why do the French call strikes so often? Because they usually work. No one wants the supermarket workers to get sick, so I’m sure their employers will figure out how to make sure they feel safe while they’re making sure we can all get our food. And our ice cream…
When You Run Out of Netflix Series to Watch
Maybe I’m just not following the right social media accounts, but I’m surprised we haven’t had any instances of someone cracking under the pressure of confinement and busting out in a flamboyant streak down the empty streets in nothing but running shoes and…a face mask (santé oblige). But perhaps that’s more of a British thing. What do the French do when they let their hair down? Maybe read the last paragraph. 😉
Hellfest has been Cancelled
Nothing more to say about that. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you probably won’t care. And if you do…well you probably already heard, too. I don’t attend too many rock festivals anymore, but I still like knowing they take place. Especially Hellfest. I feel like maybe we all need to play some good headbanging hits from our windows tonight.
Police Chat Line
The Police Nationale have an online chat available during the confinement daily from 8am-9pm. It’s a good place to get all of your non-emergency (or “not-sure-if-it’s-an-emergency”) questions answered without overloading the “17” telephone line: https://www.police-nationale.interieur.gouv.fr/
Barber of Seville by the Paris Opera
The latest Paris Opera production availble free on their official website is Rossini’s Le Barbier de Séville, through April 12th: https://www.operadeparis.fr/magazine/le-barbier-de-seville-replay
That’s all for today, folks. Stay healthy, stay inside! – Heather
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