France: virus straight ahead, full steam ahead!

– Uh Captain, two days ago, we had to backtrack. Now, we must go ahead with all the political meetings (Parliament and Municipal Councils). What exactly should we do?

– Full steam ahead! I am telling you. Our heading is straight ahead! And long live France! And long live our institutions! And long live the Power!

From a statistical point of view, there are today 264 deaths in France^[1]LCI, 19th March 2020, https://www.lci.fr/sante/en-direct-coronavirus-confinement-covid-19-pandemie-2019-ncov-une-prolongation-du-confinement-tres-vraisemblablement-necessaire-assure-sante-publique-france-2143314.html. The Institut Pasteur reports that each year, 1,500 to 2,000 people die from the seasonal flue ^[2]Planetoscope, 19th March 2020, https://www.lci.fr/sante/en-direct-coronavirus-confinement-covid-19-pandemie-2019-ncov-une-prolongation-du-confinement-tres-vraisemblablement-necessaire-assure-sante-publique-france-2143314.html except in 2014 when 18,300 people, mainly elderly, died of the H3N2 virus.

Several medical doctors have confirmed that the Corona virus is experienced as a simple flue by most patients, except those with previous complications, such as the lungs for example.

However, CC recommends following the precautions in order to stop the spread of this virus which, in addition to threatening our elders, tends to immobilize the whole world (Mr. Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, has just given new containment measures ^[3]PM Modi Speech, le 19/03/2020, https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/pm-narendra-modi-to-address-india-coronavirus-outbreak-update-news-xxxxx/story/398702.html). Meanwhile, one could take advantage of these new ways of living our daily lives.

In France, it remains astonishing that the Government persisted in maintaining the elections, while growing evidence shows that many people did not go to the polls due to health reasons, the latter having given rise to orderly containment measures by the same government. Researchers in political science, that is to say, Pr Rémi Lefebvre, Drs Nicolas Bué and Fabien Desage, both teacher-researchers, have even gone further by titling that The first round of municipal has not occurred^[4]Le premier tour des municipales n’a pas eu lieu, https://0424a129-a74c-404f-83d2-b74388fce628.filesusr.com/ugd/fcddf9_bde891b71e514db4a4cc6dd3688cfdbe.pdf.