My valid excuse. My reason for leaving. You know, the little box at the bottom that you have to tick to justify your day’s walk outside your home on the “Certificate of derogatory travel” now more than compulsory in all pockets.
Usually Etrat, a small town of only 2,600 inhabitants, from the Saint-Etienne metropolis, lives to the rhythm of the whistles, the cries of young football players, the applause of parents, weekend tournaments …
The State is also the lair of the Greens. The training center and the headquarters of AS Saint-Etienne are located there, in the plain. We regularly come across athletes at the wheel of their racing cars, going to training, if they are not challenged before by their fans.
In the city, the club attracts. Moreover, 2 weeks ago, many supporters gathered in front of the center to see their players leave for Lyon, to face like warriors, the sworn enemy of Lyon, in yet another derby. A green crowd, green smoke too, police to frame the little party, sports journalists who covered the event there. The green frenzy.
Dead time or simple half-time?
But today, none of that. Silence.
The only whistle I hear is from birds, which remind us that they are still there. Calm has taken over the city. It is appreciable and at the same time disturbing.
The training center looked quite empty when I walked past it. The Greens also put away the jersey and returned to the locker room; the Ligue 1 championship is suspended until further notice and the final of the Coupe de France is suspended. So the players also take care as they can, and participate in challenges on social networks, like the striker Denis Bouanga.
By continuing my walk, I note that the municipal grounds which host the club of L’Etrat La Tour Sportif are also empty… The little sportsmen in addition to being deprived of school, are also deprived of ball, Coronavirus obliges… Finished the animation. It’s sad.
But young people do not let themselves be put down and like their neighbors and idols of ASSE, they participate in online challenges, confined.Running, walking, but not too far or too close
On a basketball court I meet a guy who plays basketball. Alone. That’s good, he understood the whole meaning of “individual physical activity” and applied the instructions in the last check box!
On my journey, a few walkers, with their doggie too. My only social bond right now! We stay at a distance. Brief head greetings, as if a “Hello” escaped from our lips was going to contaminate us!
And I hear breaths approaching. Nowadays, I prefer to step aside … I run into these joggers. The same ones that I meet on my rare outings “dog” and that I see from my terrace, these last days. Always the same in fact. A guy is wearing the Greens jersey. Solidarity, pride. Amazing… A young woman, a pink top. Two jogging colleagues follow each other at a distance, 1m regulatory. Reasonable and responsible. Good job guys !
I will even see them again and again … almost 4 to 5 times. Well yes, we must stay “near the home” we were told! So in L’Etrat the tour is quickly done …
What still guarantee a little animation in the city. The passage of the SAMU vehicles or of the firefighters, lit beacons, bound for the nearby CHU NORD, bring us back to this sad reality of the moment.
Come on, let’s breathe, the sun is here.