‘Une ambience terrible’: Weary France once again battles twin threats of terror and coronavirus

“Une ambience terrible." This is how one French radio host described the atmosphere in France on Thursday afternoon, after reports of a second knife attack emerged within hours of the first.

Listening to the news as I made my way back to the supermarket to stock up on supplies for another lockdown, there was a creeping sense of déjà vu.  

It was the fourth knife attack in France in just over a month, with the common thread of suspected terrorism linking Thursday’s incident in Nice to others in Paris.

The new national lockdown, announced on Wednesday night, was also a carbon copy of the first one imposed in March. Streets were once again busy but any sense of urgency seemed to be missing - replaced with a feeling of resignation. The lines at the supermarket checkout were long but no longer panicked; trolleys still packed with toilet rolls and pasta, but no longer hurriedly clattering into one another.

Lessons had also been learnt from the first confinement. Along with the dash to supermarkets and petrol stations were queues snaking out from hairdressers and bookshops as all non-essential businesses prepared to close. A nearby arts and craft shop also appeared unusually busy as people made preparations for a long winter ahead.

The new restrictions, which come into force at midnight on Thursday night, bring an end to any sense of normalcy that had returned since the last lockdown lifted. Bars and restaurants will once again close, children as young as six will now be required to wear face masks, and anyone stepping out their front door will need to fill out a form stating their reason for being outside.

“Like last Spring, you will be able to leave your home only for work, for a doctor’s visit, to help a relative, do essential shopping, or go out for one hour of exercise,” Macron said.

These were the same rules that he announced in March ahead of the first lockdown, though this time Macron’s televised address felt different. Gone was the militaristic rhetoric - it was no longer a war against an unseen enemy, but an acceptance that the virus had already won.  

He admitted that France had been “overwhelmed” by the speed at which the virus was spreading, calling it “worse than even the most pessimistic projections”.

In March, Macron deployed the army to assist in badly hit regions, transferring patients from overrun hospitals to areas that had yet to see a significant spike in cases. This tactic would no longer be possible, he said on Wednesday, as intensive care units were already at 58 per cent capacity nationwide. Moving patients is pointless, because “the virus is everywhere”.

With 24 hours to prepare for the new lockdown, traffic jams once again formed in the roads leaving Paris as another mass exodus appeared to be underway.

Thursday’s attack was reminiscent of the litany of terror incidents that have afflicted France in recent years. But this time the response felt different. 

“Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past,” wrote former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a tweet.

Other attacks were reported in Lyon and Sartrouville, and every top trend across all major social media platforms in France were either terror or pandemic related.

Twitter users described it as a “dark day” for the country, echoing word-for-word previous posts from tragedies still fresh in the memory. This sense of repetition brings with it despondency. Notable in their absence were hashtags expressing hope and solidarity. #JeSuisCharlie and #PorteOuverte were replaced with trends plainly stating the bleak realities.

This time around, the novelty of lockdown has worn off and terrorism seems as woven into the fabric of France as the virus itself. With the second confinement there is no summer to look forward to, and the days are getting darker.