Current CV Situation in France

Thank you all for reaching out and asking how things are going here in France.  I am happy to report, that as of today, we are doing really well.

We have seen some great leadership by President Macron.  He gave a national address on Wednesday night saying that as of Monday, March 16, all schools would be closing, citing kids as the fastest way the virus spreads.  He asked everyone over 70 to stay home, and for everyone else, if you can, to please stay off public transportation.

He also said that the disease has no nationality and that if national frontiers are closed it would only be because it was essential and coordinated with the other European countries.  Nationalism is not the answer to the virus.  This hasn't seemed to cause anxiety among the French citizens as much as a "call to action."  This is about protecting all of us, because we are all in this together.  Even when he said it was going to get much worse, I couldn't help but feel reassured that he was doing all he could to protect us.  We also are aware that there are more restrictions to come - cafes and restaurants closing, public transportation shutting down, etc.  But for now, it seems appropriately cautious.

There is also great information to access.  All museums and public places have the same sign posted by the government about hand washing and coughing into your sleeve.  Workers in public spaces are wearing gloves and, at times, even masks.  More cleaning is happening in public spaces, as well.  There is a national number to call with non-urgent Coronavirus questions, as well as a different number to call if you suspect you have it.  If you call that second number, an ambulance will then be sent to administer a test.  And due to an initiative that started in 2013, the postal workers are continuing the check on the elderly when they deliver the mail to monitor the homebound.

These signs are posted all over Paris.

    

Finally, and this is the biggest one for me, President Macron said, "Free health care, regardless of income, career or professional conditions, our welfare state, these are not costs or changes but precious things essential assets when fate strikes."  This is about taking care of the collective "we"!

I have to admit that prior to his address, I did wonder if we should try and get back to the U.S., especially when I heard of what was happening in Italy, with not enough beds or ventilators.  But then we have also been watching what has been happening in the U.S. and we became more resolute in staying.  If we were to come home, we might not be able to go home, but be put in isolation.  And with each state seeming to make their own decisions about what and when to close, it just doesn't seem worth the risk.  Even with Will's more fragile anatomy, we feel we are in a good place.  Add to that the fact that children are not suffering as terribly, and our decision was made.

Here in Paris, we have stocked up, filling our small refrigerator and pantry.  I started the kids back on vitamins.  Unfortunately, they don't have chewable or even those to swallow, so the kids are struggling to gulp down the concoction.  I stocked up on hand sanitizer and soap.  I also bought flowers to remind us that there is still beauty in these dark times.

 

We did cancel our trip to the Loire Valley this weekend, thinking less about our own personal health, but instead about the community of France as a whole.  I will admit that was not an easy decision.  I am not one that considers long-term risk a lot - remember how we just took our kids paragliding?  I resist risk, thinking the possibility won't happen.  But this is real.  This is happening.  This is when we need to think about others and what affect our actions might have on others.

So we are going to embrace more family time together, in our 72 square meter apartment.  We will stay close to home, and continue homeschooling.  (Thankfully that isn't interrupted.)  We have warm weather and beautiful skies, so daily trips to the park are a must.  Most importantly, we have this gift of time together.  I don't plan to squander it.

Blue skies and daffodils.

Love,
Betsy