On the Côte d’Azur they did well as long as the lockdown lasted. Then they opened the doors, the ports and the sky. There was a half season to save, it pushed the desire to escape the siege of Covid. And so now they do the math. Marseille high risk area, Cannes a little less, Nice in alarm. Inevitable limits to restaurants and bars, the stop to gatherings and measures in the hope of avoiding the second total block.
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As in other places in Europe that make a living from tourism, efforts have been made to relaunch activities. The airport – the second in France – has reactivated one of the two terminals after the long break. There is no need to consult the timetable, just look up while you walk on the Promenade: planes pass low, flights from all over Europe, from North Africa, from places that had contagion problems. Only direct connections with New York, Montreal, China, Doha and Dubai, symbols of the global projection, remained closed. Private jets have reappeared, those of billionaires. Not numerous, at least at the beginning due to checks. Over the weeks there are those who have found a way to reach their destination using loopholes, such as residence abroad or a European bank card. Airplanes, chartered by those who can afford it, took off from Russia and the former republics of the Soviet Union, aiming for the French Riviera, Alicante, Barcelona and Cyprus, transferring VIPs determined to reach the Mediterranean. Maybe to spend a period aboard super yachts. Until a few days ago in the bay of Villefranche the Ace, a 160 million dollar boat, was at anchor, and near the Garon, its support unit equipped with helicopter, motorboats and full galley. Everything available to the owner, an Armenian or Ukrainian industrialist, depends on the sources.
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Few masks
According to the directors of the luxury hotels, the absence of the emirs of the Gulf was felt. Not only because they occupied expensive apartments, but because of parties, services of all kinds, generous expenses. Many of the events scheduled for these months have also been skipped, meetings that in Cannes alone would have brought mountains of euros.
And normal people have not given up on vacation. Columns of Frenchmen have headed south, by car or with low cost ones and they have joined families of Scandinavians, Hungarians, British, Italians in search of relaxation. The protections were foreseen, only you did not feel the pressure of the past months in the air. Fewer visitors, for even less tension: in the streets of the historic centers few wore masks, not always respecting the spacing of the tables. Some meeting places were outdoors, but in small spaces and therefore the utmost caution would have been necessary.
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The departure of the Tour
Collective responsibility, weighs the geographical position on an important road axis, count the large numbers mixed with intolerance. Stories similar to the Italic outbreaks. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to start the Tour de France from Nice, with the whole party accommodated for three days in the city. Presences, oxygen for the boxes and a picturesque route from the beaches to the ancient villages on the heights. A beautiful postcard where it was inevitable that the spectators would be a little too close. Yet the Mayor Christian Estrosi, a respected figure, aware of the risks, given that tested positive for the virus in March. Personal experience that helped him in managing the emergency, with free distribution of masks to the inhabitants, clear rules, great attention to protect a community that has suffered a very hard blow at the hands of terrorism, but got up again. Immediately.
His narrow road, closed between the protection of health and the pressure of those who have to work. The government asked to close the premises at 22, he – in front of the threat of a mass protest – suggested alternative solutions to reduce the impact on everyday life. And what happens here is observed with concern beyond the border, with the thousands of Italian frontier workers entering France and the Ligurian shops where our cousins go to shop. The neighbor’s troubles ultimately affect everyone.
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25 September 2020 (change September 25, 2020 | 22:01)
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