A Student's Experience of the Coronavirus Crisis from France: May 3, 2020

by Bérénice Locherer.  Bérénice is a Masters I student in international business at Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien who has returned home to France during the coronavirus crisis.  She has been taking European Union courses this term alongside students in the Illinois in Vienna Program.

May 3, 2020

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My name is Bérénice Locherer. Currently in Master 1 of a business school, our university offers us the opportunity to do a year of study abroad. I chose Lebanon, a country that attracts me a lot. Indeed, the Lebanese are proud of their country and are so warm and welcoming with us, Europeans. Due to a civil revolution that began in mid-October 2019, the embassy asked me, for security reasons, to return to France. However, I wanted to come back enriched by an experience abroad and so I chose to spend my summer semester in Austria, at the Wirtschaftsuniversität in Vienna.

My courses in the Austrian capital started at the end of February 2020. I was happy to get the chance to study in this city with its sumptuous buildings and a thousand wonderful places. At the same time, the coronavirus starts to spread in Europe.

 

The first two weeks are going well. I take courses to deepen my knowledge of the European Union, marketing and management. I am slowly taking my mark in an outstanding university.

 

The coronavirus situation in France is already critical. In Austria, the circulation of the virus is still low. However, the Austrian government decided on the 10th of March to suspend face-to-face courses, the opening of bars and restaurants, and personal services. I am therefore forced to take online courses for a month, with reservations. Exchanges are limited, I am no longer emerged in Austrian culture, and I can no longer discover my adopted city. Only two days later, I hear that that the airlines will soon stop their connections with France. At the request of the consulate, I am again forced to return home. I thought, then, that I would be able to come back as early as the 3rd of April for the resumption. At the same time, France also closes all schools and universities, then bars and restaurants, while suspending gatherings. The Wirtschaftsuniversität sets quickly the online courses up and is trying as much as possible to provide information for the rest of the year. However, on the 27th of March another bad news occurs... The exchange students will not have to come back on site anymore since the university will not open until the end of the academic year.

Photo Credit: Jacques Paquier, via Creative Commons.
License available here.

The lockdown in France creates an atmosphere of mistrust and fear. Indeed, people rush into supermarkets and rob them, burglarize to get protection. Masks, hydro-alcoholic gel, bread and pasta become rare commodities. Each outing must be imperatively justified by a compelling reason and accompanied by a certificate signed on honor. Displacement must be within a radius of one kilometer from home. Shopping must be done in the nearest supermarket and must not exceed one hour. This, under penalty of a fine. President Macron calls for a united France, but all too often, there are selfish behaviors of a majority of French people. It is rare to find solidarity and empathy today…

In April, while Austria eases its lockdown measures and announces the reopening of shops and restaurants, France extends it until 11 May. The hospitals are saturated, the number of deaths continues to increase. The situation is palpable, but every effort is being made to remain confined to save lives.

Today, the 3rd of May, shops, traders, schools, ... are eagerly waiting the government's decision regarding the reopening and recovery of the economy. For Master students, stress is setting in... The search for internships or work-study programs is complicated and offers as responses to applications are rare. In France, this is an unprecedented experience. The situation is previously unseen and the reactions are different. France must continue to save lives but must also think about saving its economy.