Despite the health crisis, Paris Plages back between joy and mistrust

The crowd was rather sparse on Saturday morning: traditional deckchairs, picnic tables, construction sets, and petanque on the banks of the Seine. “

The crowd was rather sparse on Saturday morning: traditional deckchairs, picnic tables, construction sets, and petanque on the banks of the Seine.

“It’s great that it opens… If everyone pays attention”: as Bruno, a 55-year-old resident, says, Parisians and some tourists spent this Saturday a little hidden on the banks of the Seine, which welcomes until the end of August, the 19th edition of Paris Plages, this year adapted to sanitary measures.

Traditional blue flags fluttering in the wind mark passers-by on the promenade of the Hotel de Ville, the beaches of Paris have been launched. But for a “summer special” in the time of the coronavirus, name the boards put up by the city of Paris. However, wearing a mask is not mandatory, although it is “highly recommended”, Pierre Rabadan, the new assistant to the mayor of Paris in charge of sports, told France Info.

READ ALSO >> recommended masks are available and the gel will return to the beaches of Paris

Summer offer: Take advantage of the special offer of 2 months for €1 I subscribe

For this new edition, more than fifty animations (cultural, recreational and sports) have been planned along the banks of the Seine park and the Bassin de la Villette. The public was quite sparse on Saturday morning: traditional deckchairs, umbrellas, picnic tables, construction games, bowling, but also tai chi classes, water activities and free swimming in the La Villette pool.

Petar, 60, without a mask, is part of the “regulars” during Tai Chi Paris Plages. “For 4 years I have been here every day, as soon as it opens and all summer, to work out in my two-hour gym, it’s great,” says this Parisian who lives in the fourteenth district of Paris. Fear of the coronavirus? “We make sure, even during the course, to keep the necessary distance, everything is going well”, she smiles.

A little later, a team of a dozen “beachgoers” is busy setting up the latest sun loungers and umbrellas. A woman, fifty years old, yells, “It’s always the same people on deck, you know?” “Ah yes, ma’am, but he’s first come, first served!” replied the young plagiarist, with a red cap on his head.

“If there is too much world, a semicircle”

In the direction of Pont-Marie, where the concert is due to start in an hour, Bruno, walking towards a not decided to stay with his 8-year-old daughter. “This morning we decided at the last minute, but it was nice to start the day with a classical music concert on the coast,” explains the 55-year-old father of a family who lives in the Val de Marne. . “It’s great for Parisians, tourists, because it opens this year despite the ‘health crisis’, he said, regretting that ‘few people wear masks’.

If some came to the same opening to get a place in the courses or concerts, others “fall on the beaches of Paris almost by chance.” “We have a walk to Paris, it’s even nicer to go down to the quays, and the Parisian beaches are very nice,” Isabelle and Jean-Edouard rejoice in Lille.

“This is a special summer (…) because many Parisians go on vacation, we will be much less tourists this year, and our desire was to enable those who are here, those who come to visit (…), to be able to enjoy the city, from its exterior (…), the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, told journalists at the inauguration of Paris Plages, adding that “of course” it is necessary to “adjust the sanitary protocol”. to the epidemic situation, because we have to be extremely careful.”

Read our full file

paris beaches

the recommended masks are available and the gel will return to Paris Plages Paris beaches held from July 18 to the end of August, Hidalgo announced Paris Plages: 18th edition launched this Saturday for two months

“I live in the neighbourhood, I will visit the Parisian beaches every year, but if I see that there are too many people, I will make a half circle so as not to expose myself to danger,” Božić promises. , 65 years old, cloth face mask.

Date Updated: July 18, 2020, 3:58 PM

Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn