Day 1392 (Wednesday) 31st March 2021

Another early start on a gloriously sunny day and we were pleased to see the jetty for the rental boats is back.

I think you probably remember the boat rental company called Dark Pelican, well apparently the owner didn’t pay his taxes on time and has lost the business, which is a real shame because it was a great little business and the boys who work there were great. Hopefully someone has bought the business and it will be back this summer – if we ever get out of lockdown. The fact that they’ve brought the jetty back looks promising. Having said that, Macron is making an announcement tonight at 8pm about the next stage of lockdown and reading between the lines it doesn’t look promising.

Huw gave me a lift to Saint Jean and I spent a very pleasant 90 minutes with Christelle and Brice in the architect office. I like working in this part of Saint Jean because it’s where the ‘ordinary’ working people live and I noticed this lovely, messy balcony next door to the office.

  

I caught the bus home because I wasn’t in a rush today; I don’t have an online class with Cedric because he is taking his Easter holiday.

 

A few days ago we noticed some posters going up in Villefranche informing the community that the whole town is going to be a one-way system, starting from today.

We’ve seen that a lot of the white road marks have been painted over.

I believe the red line on this map is the new one-way route and it means that all traffic will have to go through the citadel – it makes no sense whatsoever.

 

I did some prep when I got home and Huw has finished working up in the villa for a while. We got a WhatsApp message from Christian telling us that there was a fire in Antibes and it looked awful.

‘Thick smoke has been visible in the area around Juan-les-Pins after a fire broke out in a garage this afternoon. Reports say that the fire started on the ground floor of a four storey building on rue Bricka.’

I caught the train to Beaulieu and while I was waiting to start work I sat on a park bench enjoying the sun. A man on a bike stopped and asked me if I lived in Beaulieu and I said no and he carried on chatting in French. He asked me where I was from, what I did for a living and so on and then he asked me if I wanted his number. I politely declined telling him that I was married, he apologised and told me I had beautiful eyes! I was chuffed, I’d been pulled by a Frenchman in French!

I spent 45 minutes with Odile and then another 45 minutes with her daughter Sarah before walking to Saint Jean.

  

I went past the most expensive flower shop in the world and even I was surprised that this pot of ‘coupe muscari’ whatever they are, cost 80€!

There were a lot of people sunbathing on the beach in Beaulieu and Saint Jean 

I was so warm when I arrived at Florence’s that Ocean and I decided to work in the garden again and it was lovely.

I caught the bus home and wasn’t surprised to see considerable traffic on the top road.

Attention on 03/31/21 at 6 a.m. traffic modification creation of a one way.

There were police on every corner from Octois down to Rue du Poilu

This street used to be a one-way road and now it is just for pedestrians – why?

Just before getting home I happened to look up and saw this mural

This wall is just a plain wall and everything else is painted. How many times have I walked down this road and not noticed it?

It is bank holiday in France on Monday and in anticipation of the Easter break I looked at The Local France to see what the rules are…having said that this may all change completely at 8pm tonight…

Easter holidays in France – what are the rules and the government’s advice?

With Easter approaching many people might have been hoping or planning for a trip away or a family lunch, so here is what's possible under the latest Covid-19 restrictions in France.

As Covid case numbers rise in certain areas and pressure on hospitals grows, 16 areas of France have been put back into lockdown.

At the same time in other areas of France there are no new restrictions and the nationwide curfew has been pushed back to 7pm, while rules on international travel have also been relaxed.

So exactly what you can do over Easter, which falls on April 4th this year, really depends on where you live.

Lockdown areas

If you live in the départements of Aisne, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Val-d’Oise, Alpes-Maritimes, Eure or Seine-Maritime you are subject to lockdown rules from midnight on Friday, March 19th.

One of the restrictions is no inter-regional travel, so unfortunately a trip to a non locked-down area of the country is not possible.

However the rules on socialising in the ‘lockdown light’ area are more relaxed than under previous lockdowns, with the government pushing the message ‘Indoors on my own, outdoors as a responsible citizen’ – essentially urging people to keep any meet-ups with family and friends outdoors.

In general meeting up outside is OK as long as you are masked up and keep your distance. Picnics or BBQs are discouraged (because you need to remove your mask to eat or drink) and meeting up in the home is strongly discouraged but not actually illegal.

There will be no change to the rules over the Easter weekend, with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Wednesday urging people to avoid indoor gatherings or inviting family over for Easter.

But at least it won’t be as bad as last year when sitting indoors alone with a chocolate egg was practically the only allowed Easter celebration.

The restriction is in place for an initial period of four weeks – taking us to April 18th – although there is a review after two weeks so restrictions could be lifted if the situation in hospitals has significantly improved. The current extremely high pressure on hospitals in the Paris area would make early easing in Île-de-France seem unlikely, however.

Non-lockdown areas

For people who live in one of the other 80 départements of mainland France, however, things are much more relaxed. However, do keep an eye on the latest situation as several more areas are now at risk of being added to the ‘lockdown light’ zones.

Travel around France is allowed, and so are visits to friends and family. If you want to travel into a lockdown zone (which seems unlikely) you will be bound by lockdown rules and need an attestation to show that your journey falls within one of the accepted reasons eg work, medical appointments etc.

Travel through a lockdown zone on the way to somewhere else is possible, but you will need an attestation.

French ski resorts remain closed so although you can travel to mountainous areas for a holiday the mechanical ski lifts are not in operation, making skiing largely impossible even in the areas that still have their snow by Easter.

There is some government advice, however, with people asked to still keep socialising to a minimum even in non-lockdown areas.

There is no formal limit on gatherings within a private home but people are advised to keep gatherings to a maximum of six people, plus children.

Gatherings in public places are not allowed and public events such as festivals or concerts are not going ahead. Markets are allowed to operate.

If you are travelling, particularly if you intend to meet anyone in a high-risk group such as the elderly, the advice is to self-isolate for eight days before travel if possible and get a Covid test.

The curfew remains in place although is now 7pm-6am and across France bars, restaurants, cinemas, museums and tourist sites remain closed.