nicolas figures he’s going to let loose once quebec’s curfew ends.
“i think it’s a good thing and i’m really going to be partying,” said nicolas, who didn’t want to give his last name to a gazette reporter. the young man was lounging in jeanne-mance park earlier this week.
the
curfew began jan. 9
and was originally supposed to be a 28-day measure. it is set to be lifted at 5 a.m. on friday.
“i hope i don’t get too drunk,” nicolas continued. “but yeah, i think we’re going to drink a lot with my friends. i’m just happy that we’re going to be free again and not have that thing over our heads. i feel good about it.”
talking with folks in jeanne-mance park, which has been the site of some big gatherings since the weather has warmed up, most shared nicolas’s enthusiasm about the lifting of the curfew, though he was the only one who openly talked about celebrating the change with a few too many drinks.
many voiced a kind of grudging acknowledgement that the curfew might have been necessary to slow down the spread of covid in quebec, but some felt premier françois legault overstepped.
“i think it’s a measure that worked very well at first,
but it went on too long
,” said amani mahroug, who came here from france to study at the université de montréal. “i’m not even sure how effective it was. i’m not sure there are studies to prove that it was really that useful. it was really authoritarian. what i am liking is the new feeling of freedom. now i can spend more time with, say, a friend i haven’t seen for a long time and i don’t have to worry about having to pay a hefty fine.”