According to the interior minister, plenty of police officers and gendarmes will be mobilised to monitor compliance with the night curfew in France. The majority have put up with the new measure, but according to a survey, 35 per cent of the population disagree with it, and there are some who will try to circumvent the system.
From Saturday, French police officers and gendarmes will have to work overtime for at least a month. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has announced that 12,000 of them will be mobilised daily to enforce the curfew with everyone in and around Paris and eight other major cities from Saturday. This means that between 9pm and 6am, people can only be on the street in exceptional cases, with good reason, similar to the spring quarantine.
12 000 policiers et gendarmes seront mobilisés pour faire respecter les nouvelles règles liées au couvre-feu qui entrera en vigueur dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi à partir de minuit. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/f32hdgWDqM
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) October 15, 2020
As night shifts are dangerous, especially due to the recent increase in attacks specifically on police officers, the government pays police officers on night shift an average of 60 to 100 euros extra per month as a financial compensation for night mobilisation.
Following Emmanuel Macron’s announcement, Odoxa conducted a survey commissioned by the public radio France Inter. The answers show that 57% of the French were not convinced by the speech of the head of state, and 35% do not agree with the curfew to be introduced in big cities.
In connection with the survey, Gael Sliman, president of Odoxa, said that a large part of the population had accepted and respected the measure restricting their freedom, but at the same time they have doubts about other people. Fifty-five per cent of those surveyed believe that many will not abide by the curfew.
[SONDAGE] Instauration du couvre-feu : réactions des Français à l’interview d’Emmanuel Macron @OdoxaSondages @dentsuaegisFR pour @franceinfo et @Le_Figaro
Emmanuel Macron n’a pas convaincu
Mais le couvre-feu est largement acceptéRésultats : undefined pic.twitter.com/c8qPtvsIQL
— Odoxa (@OdoxaSondages) October 15, 2020
The survey revealed that 53% of the French do not think the president said the truth in his speech, while 57% do not believe that Emmanuel Macron can handle the epidemic adequately. The French are also sceptical about the new system replacing the failed StopCovid contact tracing app, 59% do not think it will be effective. Regarding the economic crisis, more than half of those surveyed, 56% say the president will be unable to manage the situation properly.
The announcement of Emmanuel Macron has divided the French, and although most people have accepted and respected the restrictions, there are still some who say the measures go too far. Some called the curfew a ‘health dictatorship’ and compared it to the way Germans acted during World War II. Economist Philippe Herlin even called for resistance on Twitter.
NON au #CouvreFeu (21h-6h, sur 6 semaines), NON à la #DictatureSanitaire, il n’y a pas de 2e vague (cf mon tweet précédent)
Il faut s’y opposer, résister, tricher. Défendons notre liberté!#Macron20h pic.twitter.com/yEkBTbFh8z— Philippe Herlin (@philippeherlin) October 14, 2020
An article by Le Figaro has revealed that a kind of resistance movement is emerging due to the government’s restrictions. Some are unwilling to put up with not being allowed to leave home after 9pm to have fun, so they are already organising a house party on social media. Others are looking for loopholes, for example, a person with a nurse’s card said that with the card he could easily beat the system and leave home during the curfew, but there are some who will simply disobey the curfew and continue to go out, and if they meet a police officer they will try to flee.