Have you ever heard of the concept of relative time?
No, not the scientific version, not the real one. But the one that leads us to sometimes consider that an hour of hard work goes by much slower than an hour spent having a drink with friends on a terrace of a cafe.

It already seems so long ago, when all of us were in awe, watching China build hospitals with 1000 beds in 10 days. Incredulous.
Passionate about current affairs in general - ok, "hyperconnected" - I was already scrutinizing from afar what was still just a red bubble that was growing over the days on the different graphs that were shown here and there.
On vacation abroad, far away (no, not that far), I smiled when I found myself wishing for a generalized confinement with my feet in the soft sand of a paradise beach.

Because, yes, I have an original sense of humor. Like those who try to find a few moments of happiness in their daily routine, I caught myself dreaming that this moment would last longer than I could ever wish for, thanks to the excellent socializing skills of our virus.
Okay, let's be honest. Even though the thought is amusing (I insist.), moments of happiness are not intended to linger indefinitely. But I'm sure other people can persuade you of this much better than I could.

As January ends, we slide into February and we pack up and leave. We retreat back to France. All the while keeping an eye on the news.
With this story, this red dot that keeps getting bigger on the graph, my summer soap opera came early this year.

It’s true, it gives us something to talk about with friends over a drink. Exactly what we need, the rush, we love it, we laugh about it and above all, it makes for great debates, as always.
Who doesn't have their own little pseudoscientific study up their sleeve to support a plausible theory, contradicted by someone else a few seconds later?
And it lasts, all night long, sometimes until the alcohol runs out. Sometimes until the departure of the last man standing, his arguments in his pocket.

In short, we feel safe.
Grampa was right: we hadn't experienced anything until now.

This is surely what allows us to live with our carefree attitude, a certain form of confidence in this "greater good" which has our back in all circumstances.
Make no mistake, I'm not talking about unawareness either. Oh yes, we are aware of the dangers of our world. Sometimes engaged and even militant. But all the while with a permanent feeling of "it happens to others, not to us". "It will not happen in France".
After all, come to think of it, Grampa hadn't known anything about life either before experiencing it.

So there you go, Grampa, Mr. President Macron said it: it has finally arrived, that good ole war that you wished us to experience so much. The one that would put the right ideas back in place once and for all. The one who would educate us.

I am only happy about one thing: it has taken long enough to happen for you not to experience it. I think you weren't ready for this one.

Let me just tell you that in the meantime, your war, it has closed the bars and restaurants you held dearly ... until further notice.