EN 
FR 
ES Containment was declared on March 16 and began on the 17th.
At 11.30pm on March 16, I took the last picture of the open "Le Voltaire" café.
60 days of confinement.
At first I was kind of tetanized.
It was when I discovered that I could take interesting photos from my second-floor balcony and assemble them into a chronicle that my outlook changed.
I'd go out to the balcony for 10-15 minutes at a time, and wait for the singular scenes to come to me.
As the crossroads was almost empty, they were easy to spot.
What was the most common scene during the first period of confinement?
People with big bags containing large quantities of... toilet paper.
Every now and then I'd see nostalgic people staring at the front of the bookshop.
Passers-by who dare to cross the crosswalk while reading Le Monde without fear of being run over!
An unusual scene
A more usual scene: an unequal battle!
...like Jean-Luc who goes drinking with his buddies.
Caught!
Suddenly I see a young woman, phone in hand, looking up. What is she looking for?
She's looking for her friend who lives on one of the upper floors of this building!
She's found a way of communicating that's halfway between face-to-face and WhatsApp, and that respects social distancing by far. If the virus continues to circulate, I see a great future for this system!
I catch a glimpse of a couple looking at their phones together ... and ending up kissing, defying social distancing!
Fortunately, we can still kiss in confinement!
Goodbye, good friends!
A tender moment: a little girl picks a flower and gives it to her mother (yes, there are flowers on boulevard Voltaire!).
Despite the distance, these sessions enabled me to meet new people and exchange friendly glances with my "models".
For example, with this photographer we played photographer photographed !
Or with this couple who show me their joie de vivre
Or with this pair of girlfriends who discovered me.
And with this young couple of passers-by applauding in the street at 8 p.m. in tribute to the nursing staff!
And also in tribute to other heroes, frontline workers.
But the most moving encounter was with this little girl who spotted me taking photos from my balcony, which is unusual because I'm on the second floor.
I'm not even sure her father noticed! An intense exchange of glances and smiles
From time to time, I'd see unusual characters pass by, like this young woman in disguise, demonstrating an original way of protecting herself from Covid19.
Or these three blond fairies who looked like they'd stepped out of another film (too bad I couldn't get a frontal shot).
Or this mysterious, slightly disquieting figure, whose oblique gait mirrors that of the tree.
The first part of this little journey to the end of confinement is over. Part 2 will take you through the 8 p.m. ritual with my neighbors and scenes of generosity with the homeless, and will be available in 15 days.
When will the old world return?
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