More on Coronavirus in France
Every evening at 7pm in Paris, I have an aperitif with my closest friends to raise a glass and discuss our respective days. Some fill me in on health issues, some seek company and others just want to vent.
By 8pm, most put down their glasses, go to the window, lean out and cheer the embattled French healthcare workers risking their lives for us. It’s a tremendously moving moment – one that has even inspired a trending hashtag, #weapplaud. It reminds me, painfully, of a happier time: the 1998 World Cup, which France hosted and won. The whole country seemed to fill the streets and raise a glass together.
Ten days ago, when I arrived in Paris, the city I lived in for 16 years and call home, the first thing I did was check L'Officiel des Spectacles, the cultural guide. Like many, I was in denial about the coronavirus. I wanted to see which exhibits, films and shows I could see. I planned on shopping at Le Bon Marché, my favourite store, and visiting Georgette, my local brasserie. I organised dinners and was invited to parties.
Paris seemed so far from Wuhan. Even Bergamo, one of the most afflicted areas of Italy, somehow seemed another planet. Many of us thought – I thought – the virus would fly over France, and leave it untouched, as if by magic.
We were wrong. Last Sunday, despite warnings from the Ministry of Health not to gather in large groups, the spring weather drew crowds to the banks of the Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens and the Tuileries. Municipal elections were on and polling stations were open. But those picnics, open markets, votes and last drinks with friends at cafes would come to cost the public dearly.
Within days, Parisians were under lockdown. On March 16, President Emmanuel Macron, exercising extraordinary leadership, gave a sobering address. “We are at war,” he repeated several times.
Life from now on, he implied, was going to be radically different. Visits to family and friends are banned. Shops are to be closed. Gatherings are illegal. “All infractions will be punished,” Macron said.
There are over 12,000 cases of the coronavirus in France, and at least 450 deaths so far.
It is indeed a war. I am used to war. I have been a war correspondent for many years. But this time, the enemy – as Mr Macron noted – is invisible.
Our new normal began the day after Mr Macron's speech. To go outside, one needs to be armed with an attestation de sortie (permission to leave). More than 100,000 police have been deployed to make sure that individuals' sorties are justified – a forage for food; a doctor's visit; a dog walk.
Fines are imposed, even on the homeless. Outside, I wore my coronavirus “flak jacket”: rubber gloves and a mask. The streets near Invalides were empty. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower loomed, devoid of tourists.
Initially, I was living alone but got anxious and moved in with a kind friend. We had a strict routine: gloves and masks for brief sorties, bowls of eau de javel – a beloved 19th century French disinfectant – set next to sinks for sterilising hands. Coats and shoes were left outside. We took hot showers the minute we arrived indoors. There was no touching: we "hugged" by opening our arms at a distance.
We had a strict routine: gloves and masks for sorties, and bowls of eau de javel by the sink
My world had mostly shrunk to my bedroom, overlooking a courtyard. Each day at around the same time, I saw some children kicking a ball, supervised by an unsmiling mother. Their world, too, had shrunk – and become radically dangerous. The World Health Organisation recently announced that children are not immune from the virus.
Five days into my Paris lockdown, when it was clear that restrictions would tighten more, I got an empty train to the Vercors, a remote mountain region. Passengers wore masks and gloves and announcements rang through the carriages, telling us to sit apart.
In a rare act of kindness, a man wearing latex gloves helped carry my heavy bags (laden with books for the long lockdown ahead). Earlier in the day, a man in the street helped me fix my bicycle after I gave him a pair of gloves, too. He spent 20 minutes untangling the chain, motioning for me to stand back as he did.
More from Janine di Giovanni
What effect will the virus have on French society? France has injected a lot of state spending into its already-excellent health care. It has also beefed up its social welfare protection. People are anxious but they also know they have a state that will support them.
In his speech to the public on March 16, Mr Macron pledged 300 billion euros in loans to help businesses . He promised the state would waive social-security payments, utility bills and rent for those unable to pay. There will be tax breaks and compensation for those who cannot work and protection for salaried workers.
This is our new reality. What we initially thought would last two weeks we now know will be much longer.
Long ago, in wartime Sarajevo, I learnt the phrase Système D. It is a French concept, developed during World War II, which basically means making the best of a bad situation. The D is for débrouille: resourcefulness. In Sarajevo, that meant French correspondents smuggling in saucisse and wine, looking the most chic and seeming, despite the misery, to be rising above it.
Our fear today is just as valid as that of wartime. But I believe – as I did during the worst days in Sarajevo – that we will rise above it. We will remember these days. Today, from my window, I see flowers pushing through the winter earth. It is the start of spring. Even the coronavirus cannot stop that.
Janine di Giovanni is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and the author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria. She tweets @janinedigi
PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS
Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Results
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Godzilla%20x%20Kong%3A%20The%20New%20Empire
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdam%20Wingard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBrian%20Tyree%20Henry%2C%20Rebecca%20Hall%2C%20Dan%20Stevens%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on Quran memorisation:
Kibsons%20Cares
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Results
2-15pm: Commercial Bank Of Dubai – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Al Habash, Patrick Cosgrave (jockey), Bhupat Seemar (trainer)
2.45pm: Al Shafar Investment – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Day Approach, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
3.15pm: Dubai Real estate Centre – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Celtic Prince, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Sprint by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Khuzaam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Shadwell – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Tenbury Wells, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Jebel Ali Stakes by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
5.15pm: Jebel Ali Racecourse – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Rougher, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
More on Coronavirus in France