Our friend living in Paris says that the uptick in coronavirus in France is partially due to the current rainy season, and the restaurants having full-service sit-down operations with all the people in them avoiding outdoor eating. If we travel there this coming Thanksgiving holiday season, I wonder if they will shut down the dining areas by then?
One solution, although I am not sure how it would impact French dining habits, would be to stagger mealtimes and therefore, the number of customers in a restaurant.
Mindful of the (delightful) French habit of dining later in the evening, it may be time for restaurants to explore an earlier (6ish or so) seating, to be vacated before the 9:00 pm crowd. I know! Ghastly! Terrible! But, desperate times call for desperate measures and to stay afloat, perhaps customs need to be revised, at least temporarily. Who knows? It may become de rigueur after a time to schedule sit down dinners earlier and thereby to salvage half the evening at home following a decent dinner.
The strong uptick in cases long predates the bad weather here - it literally only got cold and rainy last week — it was still in the high 80s a good part of the week of September 14.
Your friend hasn’t looked very closely at the trend lines — or the weather ! — if these are the kinds of suppositions they are throwing around.
Just to note that the government announced on Wednesday it was closing down all restaurants and bars in the Marseille- Aix conurbation for at least two weeks (started Monday) so yes, the possibility of restaurants being closed in Paris is quite real — one may not have to wait for November for it to happen if numbers keep looking like they are now.
I think that the uptick in cases is a result of what people did during the summer vacation in August.
Agree, Tocard.
Honestly if I was traveling in the next few months (if it's even possible) I'd look at places with at least a kitchenette type set up. There are several hotel chains in Paris with this set up and it's unlikely Paris would close grocery stores so you can get food. Another option might be a hotel that indicates you can use a microwave etc.. We stayed in one hotel with my Teen travel group that allowed guests the use of a kitchen on the main floor for example.
If you go the Airbnb route make sure it's a registered apartment.
Very helpful suggestions. We will likely do the kitchenette route, so we at least can cook some simple meals if restaurants get hard to use that time.
A more basic question may be 'will the border be open?'
If a surge in cases causes the government to shut down restaurants, closing the border has to be considered as a possible action.
Well, the border is still closed to Americans for leisure travel.
So it really matters where the OP is coming from, and as far as I can recall, they have not said.
And just a note that the government has instructed that restaurants in Paris for the next two weeks must be sure to maintain at least 3 feet between tables; to allow parties of no bigger than six people; and to register clients’ contact info in order that authorities can trace them if someone else who was there tests positive.
Bars have been ordered to close completely.
They will re-evaluate the trigger figures every two weeks to decide whether to maintain measures. Rumors are also that the government is considering imposing even stricter measures (whether in the hospitality domain or elsewhere).
The same is the case in Marseille, Aix, Lille, Lyon, Grenoble, and St Étienne. Toulouse and Montpellier risk falling into this category over the weekend.
And, as noted in another thread, in these cities (mentioned just above in my last post) plus Rouen, President Macron announced that as of Saturday (October 17), there will be a curfew from 9 pm to 6 am — which means many restaurants will probably not open at all for evening service.
For now, the curfew is slated to last for four weeks (it could be extended).
