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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2020 19:20:21 GMT
Bicyclists are the most aggressive people on the road; everybody knows that.
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Post by fumobici on May 17, 2020 3:21:46 GMT
Parisian cyclists seem timid compared to the ones in Amsterdam. At least I've had fewer close calls walking in Paris. Rue de Rivoli must feel very different without the private car traffic, are they planning on keeping it that way? Central Paris could do with less private car traffic, that's for sure! Leave the streets for the taxis, buses, and commercial vehicles.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2020 3:28:09 GMT
The mayor would like it to be permanent, but we haven't finished our municipal election yet. We might even have to do the first round over again.
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Post by lugg on May 17, 2020 17:28:33 GMT
I have just caught up with this thread. Absolutely fascinating and a remarkable record of these times. Thank you.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 17, 2020 20:41:08 GMT
We have extra cycle lanes coned off from the rest of the road...car drivers are furious. Essential workers were supposed to cycle or walk to work wherever possible to maintain social distancing...as you can imagine, after the third thirteen hour night shift in a row they NEEDED wider cycle lanes to allow for the wobbly cycling...only a few of my ex-colleagues cycled...they mostly drove...
Despite the slight relaxing of rules nothing much has changed here. A slight increase of traffic on the roads.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 17, 2020 20:52:48 GMT
Sorry to crash the thread. These images are so atmospheric. I was going to take some in my neck of the woods when I was out walking the dog but tbh...it doesn't look that much different. More parked cars during the daytime.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 20, 2020 7:59:09 GMT
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Post by bjd on May 20, 2020 11:45:24 GMT
I heard on the radio that the mayor keeps asking the authorities to re-open the parks in Paris but so far she hasn't received permission to do so.
I'm not particularly keen on the Luxembourg Gardens either, nor the Tuileries. I much prefer the Jardin des Plantes or little neighbourhood parks and squares in Paris.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 20, 2020 15:03:06 GMT
I am a fan of Mayor Hidalgo, but I have mixed feelings about her insistance to open the parks. The residents of Paris have proved that they are completely irresponsable in their leisure behaviour. They already got alcohol banned from the canal and riverbanks, and they would do exactly the same if they were allowed into the parks. I would tend to say that it would be all right to reopen the smaller squares, but it would be discriminatory since the majority of them are in the richer neighbourhoods. On top of that, affluent Parisians would not even take advantage of them while the less wealthy would overrun the other open spaces and receive fines.
Since Mayor Hidalgo is a very intelligent person, I would say that her push for reopening the parks as quickly as possible is linked to the second round of the municipal elections, which might be taking place next month. Her fan base mostly does not live in the rich part of town (except for the media and cultural personalities who love her), so fighting for the parks is a clever electoral move.
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Post by htmb on May 20, 2020 15:31:07 GMT
But if the parks are closed, where can people go to enjoy the weather and get a little sunlight? Are they supposed to just keep moving? Keep walking, running, biking? Yes, many will misbehave and will need to be told to separate, but surely, opening the parks could also help the overall population after being confined for so long. It might also take some of the population off the streets where many seem to be congregating.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 20, 2020 16:42:49 GMT
This would be true if there was not the evening news to inundate the country with every negative image they can find regarding civil disobedience. And that is pretty easy to do. The rest of France hates (or at least disdains) Paris, so they absolutely love to see that Parisians are completely irresponsible.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 20, 2020 18:55:01 GMT
What Htmb said!
The parks were the very first things to be closed here, while nothing else was controlled in the least -- no masks, no distancing, no closing of non-essential businesses.
I didn't get it then & I don't get it now.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 20, 2020 19:41:40 GMT
I will provide an element in Mayor Hidalgo's defence. Here is a photo that she tweeted today in front of a closed square.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 20, 2020 21:29:41 GMT
Not convinced. Those look like family groups, i.e., people who would be together in any event.
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Post by fumobici on May 21, 2020 0:07:23 GMT
Yeah from what I've seen of the risk profiles, closing parks is crazypants assuming social distancing is or can be observed and you aren't touching things other people are. It's just not an illness you are even minimally likely to get or spread out of doors with social distancing observed.
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Post by bjd on May 21, 2020 5:30:43 GMT
Absolutely, they can hardly encourage parents to send children back to school and yet not allow them to be near each other in parks. And Hidalgo knows well that so many families in Paris live in small apartments.
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Post by tod2 on May 21, 2020 12:39:13 GMT
But if the parks are closed, where can people go to enjoy the weather and get a little sunlight? Are they supposed to just keep moving? Keep walking, running, biking? Our Covid rules seem to be the same - One can walk or jog along the beach sand but you cannot sit down on it. Seems totally daft to the Stay-Fit or a family wanting to get some fresh air but the problem is if this rule was relaxed the population would arrive in hoards and social distancing would be a thing of the past.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 21, 2020 18:05:20 GMT
The city of Paris has submitted a list of 160 parks and squares (out of about 400) that they would like to reopen, but the government is continuing to refuse.
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Post by mich64 on May 22, 2020 0:56:24 GMT
Our Covid rules seem to be the same - One can walk or jog along the beach sand but you cannot sit down on it. Here as well tod2. They closed the street along the boardwalk at the waterfront to allow more room for people to walk and observe social distance. You are not allowed to sit on the benches and the public washrooms are locked. We are fortunate we can enjoy the other lake at our home as there is not much people traffic on our road like there is in the city. We have had 3 new cases of community spread cases this week. We were doing so well but now that there has been relaxing of retail openings, people have rushed to the garden centres (that includes me!) and street access shops. I had a panic attack at the garden centre, I was relieved to leave. There was a sign saying 15 person limit, when I entered there was no lineup and it was basically empty, then all of a sudden there had to be about 30 people behind me at the check-out, no social distancing, there was no room. I am going to stay home for a couple of weeks.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 22, 2020 2:42:13 GMT
Wow, Mich -- you got hit with what makes everyone nervous about the re-openings, which is grown people acting like children. Yaaay, we can go outside and play now, no rules! Good for you for deciding to re-isolate. I hope some of the other customers at the garden center will come to the same conclusion.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 22, 2020 4:44:00 GMT
I went to the Bassin de la Villette yesterday evening (around 20:30) to see how things were going.
The (closed) cinema appears to have had a few problems. Its twin across the water was completely intact, though. July has been mentioned as the date for reopening cinemas.
There were quite a few people having dinner, but each group seemed to be at least a metre apart.
The new 'no alcohol' decree was being blithely ignored.
It didn't bother the patrolling police at all. These decrees are just to give a framework for being able to charge people if things get out of control. But everything was perfectly in control.
The floating cafés and also the ones on the shore were doing excellent (take-away) business.
There were at least 30 games of pétanque in full swing. I also noticed that the card game Uno has become wildly popular.
News reports had been extremely criticised for using long focals to photograph the "crowd." When you do that, this is the sort of inaccurate picture that you get.
This is the only group that I saw that appeared to exceed the authorised size of ten persons.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 22, 2020 4:59:29 GMT
Lovely pictures. Except for a few tell-tale masks, you can't really tell this is the Bassin in the time of plague.
I love the fish-eye the young woman in the alcohol picture is giving you.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 22, 2020 6:23:22 GMT
Naturally, you would see fewer masks with so many people eating and drinking, but it has been reported that mask wearing is down to about 10% on Paris streets. Still obligatory on public transportation, though.
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Post by bjd on May 22, 2020 6:41:16 GMT
It should also be mentioned that this is a long weekend (Ascension Thursday plus an extra day so that it's a 4-day weekend). Lots of police controls to make sure nobody goes more than 100 km from home, plus the nice weather and there is a reason so many Parisians are out picknicking.
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Post by mossie on May 22, 2020 6:55:12 GMT
Thanks for reminding me of one of my favourite places, it almost looks normal.
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Post by tod2 on May 22, 2020 15:44:25 GMT
Gosh, I'm shocked that so many people are maskless. I suppose the fresh air will not allow the Covid germs to linger in one spot for long should someone be positive. Our Level 4 does not permit anyone to walk in public without a mask. Even driving in your own vehicle where you don't HAVE. TO , people mask up. I find if I'm driving into town I mask up so that I can exit my vehicle quickly and get on with shopping, but going back home I take it off. Yes Mossie, Kerouac is teasing us with his lovely photos. Fond memories of us all having lunch together there.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 22, 2020 15:54:16 GMT
The wearing of masks has dropped off at a surprising speed. Just a week ago, more than 50% of Parisians were still wearing masks. We finally got the second phase of our municipal elections scheduled for June 28th, and masks will be obligatory for voting. People will probably have to get them out of storage by then if we don't have a second wave in the meantime.
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Post by lugg on May 22, 2020 18:40:47 GMT
I am not so shocked re the mask-less people - very few are wearing them where I live. What does strike home though is the difference in distancing rules in different countries. Anyway - loved seeing the photos K2
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Post by onlyMark on May 22, 2020 19:39:24 GMT
Germany is the same as regards wearing of masks outside. Very few do. You see people coming out of the supermarket or a shop and as soon as they cross the threshold, the mask comes off. Tod, in Zambia it is law now you wear a mask whilst in a car, even when by yourself (because they never built into the regulation an exception. In Germany it is against the law for the driver to wear a mask.
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Post by tod2 on May 23, 2020 9:57:36 GMT
Gosh Mark - if the driver has passengers? I suppose they mask up. Everyone breathing in that confined space! , unless by law you must drive with all windows open……like the taxi /minibus law here..Driver must have fresh air flowing throughout the vehicle.
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