Thank You Donald Trump and Thank You Emmanuel Macron

Thank you Donald Trump for nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and to the U.S. Republican-controlled Senate for confirming her appointment…as we now have even more Americans moving to France!

Notorious RBG & Amy Coney Barrett

Ruth Bader Ginsburg must be turning over in her grave as she watches from the here-after while all the decades of her hard work battling for equal rights for all come to a potential reversal. Okay, I don’t mind that a woman got the job, but really? They call her “a reliable conservative.” She’s a devout Catholic who believes life begins at conception, so we can expect her to be tough on abortion and could vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. She’s likely not going to do much for gun control laws and while we’d all like a justice to uphold the constitution, as a strict originalist, she won’t want to change any of it for the better.

Ladies (and gentlemen), we’re screwed. She could serve on the Supreme Court for decades. She’s only 48 years old, the youngest justice on the Supreme Court, making it entirely plausible that Madame Barrett could leave her scars on a generation or more. No wonder so many more open-minded Americans are feeling homeless in their own home country. I feel that way, too. It doesn’t feel like the country I grew up in. Or maybe it really is, but I just didn’t know any different until moving to France and experiencing a very different and better life?

Meanwhile we’re all on pins and needles waiting for French President Emmanuel Macron to make a formal announcement tonight about the Covid-19 future of the nation. We know for sure that tougher restrictions will be put in place, but what?

French President Macron with Trump

The hospitals are overrun with patients. More than 52,000 infections were reported in 24 hours last Sunday. Yesterday, 33,400 new cases were reported, and there were more than 500 deaths in 24 hours. More than 3,000 patients are in intensive care with a hospital capacity of 5,800, so some hospitals have been forced to start transferring patients to less-crowded facilities. To date, more than 34,000 people have died of Covid-19 in France.

These are tough choices to make, to balance the physical health of the residents of the nation with the economic health of the nation. A total lockdown would force another wave of job layoffs and potential bankruptcies. A 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was already imposed as of last Saturday. Now there is speculation that the curfew hours will be extended, with possibly a full lockdown on weekends or more targeted lockdowns in the regions hardest hit. There are lots of proposals on the table including postponing students returning to class after the current holiday period. The general sentiment is that the economy can bounce back, but how many lives will be lost in the process?

Covid symptoms, “en Français”

The news is awash with the speculation. I speculate that the government officials “leak out” certain information in advance so that when the final announcement is made, the harshness isn’t too big of a shock to the nation’s system. New measures could be imposed as early as tomorrow night affecting restaurants, bars and nonessential shops to close and teleworking is to be enforced on companies. Another big question is if schools will remain open.

Monday I got word from the producers that our “contributor” for the House Hunters International episode scheduled to be taped this coming Saturday in Paris tested positive for Covid-19. She isn’t sick, but was infected by a colleague. I was in contact with her 10 days before she got tested, so while I’m 99 percent sure I’m fine, I’m going for a test tomorrow. It’s free, given in many locations, one of which is not far from my apartment, and it was easy to make the appointment online.

The taping has subsequently been postponed, to when we won’t know for a while. Now, with no immediate reason to be back in Paris, I changed my plans to spend a few more days in Nice. Dining al fresco on the “galets” in the sun is just too much fun! So, rather than return this Friday, I’ll head north next Tuesday, on U.S. election day. With a Senior Discount Card for SNCF, changing train plans takes just a few minutes online and a full refund is easily acquired. Now, the big question is if I will even be allowed to travel back to Paris next week!?

The TGV in the age of Covid

I think we all thought the worst had passed, but clearly that’s what got us back into trouble. It could also be that we didn’t have the testing and now we do, so we have more information than we had before, providing a truer picture than we had at the onset. We also have the means to control it by wearing masks, washing our hands and social distancing. So, why isn’t that working?

With the news, it is clear that our next Après-Midi with guest speaker, David Downie, tour guide and author of The Gardener of Eden (and many others), scheduled for November 10th from 3 to 5 p.m. Paris time, will not be held live at the café, but on ZOOM only. You are invited to join David and all of us from the comfort of your own home or office! Register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

A la prochaine…