Martial Law in France
Written by Stesha Spártakos
One of the biggest issues facing our world is the sweeping fear of Corona Extra—I mean the Coronavirus. Shortly after the 2020 Chinese New Year the virus began to pick up speed sweeping across Europe, eventually sneaking into the United States and other nations. Since then, whispers of an impending use of martial law has been the latest and greatest meme of our very own Gen Z, as well as a talking point for the rest of our nation. As of Friday March 20, 2020, the state of California entered State Lockdown, allowing citizens to leave for work, food, and health care. And to my knowledge, there hasn’t been a deployment of military forces to enforce the states regulations. However, martial law has not been implemented in America since Abraham Lincolns presidency, so chances are just stricter government until this issue has been eradicated or severely limited.
Though not all countries are so lucky, and it is not a discussion of if but when. For example, this Tuesday, March 17, 2020, France entered a fifteen day minimum period of “martial law”. The only reason it is “martial law” instead of martial law, is due to the lack of soldiers ordered to enforce curfew measures. That is for the time being. These restrictions, on the other hand, are in regards to the leaving of homes for anything EXCEPT: going to work (only if it cannot be done from home), grocery shopping, exercise (only under certain rules), vital family reasons, and of course medical care. While under these restrictions if anyone leaves their home, they must provide evidence as to why and where they are headed in form of a certificate of which can be filled out and acquired on the French government’s webpage. Along with the restrictions on citizens outdoor travel, the country declared that their external borders will be closed for thirty days after the initial start of the restrictions had put in place.
At this time the only thing that would cause the United States to enter martial law, or even stricter government regulations, is the spiraling mass hysteria and hoarding of necessities such as toilet paper, canned goods, and water bottles. The main point that many news outlets forget to tell you is to stay grounded and calm. America is one of the leading nations, we have no shortage of supplies, communities are uniting to help those who need it, our facilities are able to provide for our nation and most importantly: IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. Especially since we live in an age of technology. There are video games, shows to binge, movies to finally make time to watch, hobbies you can learn off YouTube, books to finish, music to explore, and family that you no longer have an excuse to neglect. Now is a time for the nation to build each other up with hope and pride, not tear down with fear and hysteria.