From Our Correspondent in Paris …

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

From TPM Reader CK

So this is day 5 of confinement in Paris. The wife, our three kids, and me. It’s, uh, pretty goddamn difficult. And since all happy confinements are alike, and all unhappy confinements are unhappy in their own way, I’ll spare you the report… I imagine you can only slog through so many “here’s a detailed email of my own personal confinement hell.”

Instead, I wanted to share one bright spot and that’s what’s been happening here at 8p.m. every night since Tuesday. All over France (and apparently Europe as well, since one of the personal videos is from friends in Madrid), people are opening their windows and clapping in support of medical/hospital personnel. It’s truly amazing to behold/hear and to participate in.

I honestly never thought this thing would take off. I got a forwarded WhatsApp message a few days ago calling for it and treated it with all the disdain I typically reserve for forwarded WhatsApp messages consisting of an anonymous screencap with misspellings. What’s more, this kind of initiative really isn’t my jam.

I was being dumb.

Taking part instantly transcends the loneliness of confinement. And doing it as a family helps you wash away all the drama that occurred over the course of the day. It also feels right to send out unsolicited positive vibes to people who are giving everything they’ve got. Finally, it gives you hope that some giant fcuking lesson about living together can be learned from this insanity. (One can always hope, right?)

Point being, I strongly recommend NYC get onboard. Put less purple-y, it’s just cathartic AF.

Thanks for all the work you do. Take care.

Latest Editors' Blog
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: