COVID-19 in France is growing day by day as more than 143,000 people tested positive. The fear of the virus came from neighboring countries such as Spain and Italy which are suffering more at the moment. The country decided to take extreme measures to prevent cases from growing even more rapidly. France had put the country in lockdown since the last mid-March, meaning people from outside of the country can not enter the country. Consequently, this will bring a huge impact on the most visited country in the world.
Covid-19 in France means an Empty Paris
Paris is one of the most visited cities in France, which surely brings a great revenue to the country. But since the COVID-19 strikes, The government decided to close the Iconic Eiffel Tower for an indefinite amount of time. The official has made it clear that it will lose about 92.9 million foreign visitors in this year only. Therefore, all of the tourism sectors will shut down eventually. France’s tourism consists of the Hospitality industry such as Hotels, Airbnb, Restaurants, Operas and art performances, even to Transportation sectors such as Taxis and Uber. Unfortunately, there is no way the restaurant owner can open and operate seeing no one come to enjoy the delicacy of authentic Parisien foods.
Fortunately, the government had tried to help boost the regional economy by doing a partnership project with the Taxi Industry. This immediate measure is by employing taxi drivers to drive health workers safely to the Hospitals and Health Centers. Likewise, the government also partnered with Hotel owners to provide safe shelters for Health Workers. This smart movement was initiated by President Emmanuel Macron which should be copied by other governments.
Closed Tourist Hotspot and Canceled Festivals
Airlines also suffer a lot, like Air France and EasyJet. As the second biggest airline in France, they closed almost all of their fleets. They will also have to close a lot of Airports, including Paris Orly, which welcomed 31.8 million passengers in 2019. Those small airports are very dependant on daily visitors, so when there are none, they have to contain all of the loss including the worker’s income. Security, Janitors, Administrators, and other workers now at risk to lose their jobs, until further notice. Terminals also play an important role in the country’s transportation and mobility. But they are also in danger of closing down until further notice.
As mass gatherings are now prohibited, most of the Tourist Hotspot have to close immediately. This means the government also has to cancel festivals and events through mid-July. Some of them are music festivals such as Solidays. They also canceled the annual Tour de France. There are several other famous parades such as the annual Magical Parades. One of the most popular amusement parks, Disneyland Paris also has to close at least until July. All of the closed tourism hotspots means we have to take COVID-19 seriously and braces for Global Recess.
Read more: COVID-19 in Spain: How the touristy Rome turned into a Ghost town
