Several collectives are calling for a gathering, or rather a collective and festive picnic, this Saturday March 27 in the gardens of Darcy Park in Dijon. Opposed to the obligation to wear a mask as well as vaccination, they denounce the harshness of health measures against Covid-19.
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They ask “Freedom of choice of health”. This Saturday, March 27, several citizen groups wish to organize a picnic in the gardens of Parc Darcy in Dijon. If they refuse to call themselves an anti-mask or an anti-vaccine, they put forward two slogans: “The mask and the vaccine if I want” and “Live in harmony between masked / vaccinated and unmasked / unvaccinated, with respect for all”.
Sophie * is a kindergarten teacher. She is one of the organizers of the rally. “ We want to restore calm in human relations because there is a split. People who do not have the same opinions clash with pro-mask people. On the vaccine, it’s the same. There are conflicts between relatives, sometimes within couples ”.
Among the organizers, several local variations of collectives who have come together: “Re-info covid”, a collective created in October 2020 by the anesthesiologist Louis Fouché and which opposes government measures, “Réagissons ensemble”, a humanitarian association created in the 1990s which has been reorienting itself for a year in the “safeguarding essential links” and “The Carnival of Smiles”. All denounce the anxiety-provoking climate created by the epidemic and the government measures decided to contain it.
“We will have a picnic to get together, discuss, allay certain fears. People no longer understand. We must reconnect, recreate joy.”
Picnic and speaking
“There are so many anxiety-inducing messages. But what is the project? We cannot live in fear. We can live differently, with more serenity” says Sophie. The teacher also denounces the importance taken by the fight against the virus. “I lost my brother to cancer in December. His exams were postponed due to Covid. Ok there is covid, I’m not saying it doesn’t exist. But there is also other diseases. “
Saturday, the organizers want to have a picnic, but also to install a sound system, “why not a pizza truck” and a space to dance. Speeches by health professionals are also planned.
Among the doctors who will be present, Doctor Claire Gallon, general practitioner in Asnières-les-Dijon (Côte d’Or), member of the Re-Info Covid and Santé Libre collectives. Created at the start of the epidemic to defend the freedom of prescription, in particular of hydroxychloroquine, the latter has since contested the public health choices made by the authorities. “It is high time for the medical discourse around this epidemic to change, for other voices to be heard” proclaims Claire Gallon. According to her, nearly 3,000 of her colleagues have joined the collective. They would be around forty in Bourgogne Franche-Comté. “It is no longer possible to remain like this in fear of falling ill without putting the means in the right place. We grant millions of subsidies that we must put in place for restaurants, businesses, but not for the system. health.”
An anti-vaccine rally?
“I do not believe that the vaccine is a miracle solution” explains Doctor Gallon, “But I don’t believe it’s poison either.” We must remain reasonable. ” If she considers that vaccination is useful for vulnerable or exposed people, she questions its usefulness on the scale of an entire population. “Today, clinical trials are not finished. We started to vaccinate, that’s good. But it is not known if the vaccine causes general immunity. With massive vaccination, absolute as the only solution to get out of the epidemic, we are in a form of belief. “
“We want to be able to have the choice” defends Sophie, the teacher. Today, no vaccine obligation has been announced.
The organizers also reject any vaccine strategy put in place to the detriment, according to them, of research on treatments such as Ivermectin developed by a laboratory in Montpellier or a polyclonal antibody developed in Nantes. Recently, a molecule developed by the Institut Pasteur de Lille has fueled hopes for a treatment.
Same reserve for the mask. “The mask, we are neither for nor against. But we must give meaning, logic “ Dr Gallon says. “Wearing a mask should be considered a treatment. If someone is sick and symptomatic, it’s a good idea. If fragile people need to be protected, this can be useful, but a FFP2 is needed. There is no point in believing that you are safe with a surgical mask. And finally, in the Paris metro, masks can be useful. But in town or at the beach, it’s ridiculous ” says the general practitioner.
“Many elderly patients tell me, ‘It doesn’t help to live longer if it’s to live like this. Life is not just passing the time while waiting to die!”
The organizers say they are waiting for authorizations from the prefecture and the town hall to hold the rally. Will the event take place in the event of a ban? Picnics are not prohibited, answer the organizers. “We will not have a big event. We will put on less music, less life” answers Claire Gallon before adding “We don’t want war. We just want to be in life, in the joy. Find real contacts.” According to her, the health risk is zero. She cites as an example the festive gathering that caused controversy in Marseille on March 21. “Outside, what is the danger? The 6500 Marseillais who went to carnival, you will see that there will be no epidemic peak in 15 days” she promises.
In Dijon, will the participants wear a mask? Sophie replies: “We’re not going to be masked, it’s a picnic. We’re going to eat.”
Asked about this, the prefecture of Côte d’Or replied: “The services of the prefecture have received a declaration concerning a gathering on Saturday March 27, Place Darcy in Dijon. This request is under investigation. “
* The first name has been changed
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