Tensions simmer in France as PM prepares a plan to end the lockdown

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Tensions simmer in France as PM prepares a plan to end the lockdown

France struggles to maintain order during its coronavirus lockdown, but the prime minister is prepared to unveil his plan to roll back measures.

On March 17, France announced a national lockdown, originally set to last 15 days. The government committed to deploying 100,000 police to enforce the rules of the lockdown, which required written permission to leave the house.  Anyone on the streets without written permission could receive a fine of 38 to 135 euros.

Now, a month and a half later, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe is set to unveil his plan to roll back the measures, which includes reopening schools, returning people to work, and running public transport again. After he presents his plan, the National Assembly will debate his proposal and hold a vote.

For some people, a return to normal cannot come soon enough; for others, it might not be possible.

In Clichy-sous-Bois, a suburb of Paris, more than 1,000 people line up to stand for hours to receive handouts of fruits, vegetables, and soap. Clichy-sous-Bois is an immigrant-heavy neighborhood in the Seine-Saint-Denis region, perhaps the poorest region on mainland France.

Since the start of March, when the pandemic started in France, the overall mortality rate in the region has doubled, according to national statistics agency Insee.

The Associated Press spoke to Djemba Diatomite, a woman who said that even tomatoes were now too expensive. Her husband worked at Orly Airport in Paris, and he is now without a job since the major slowdown in travel due to various national lockdowns across Europe. After the lockdown measures closed open-air markets, food prices skyrocketed; without jobs, people simply cannot afford to buy food.