Sam Fazeli & Lionel Laurent, Columnists

France Has Lockdown Lessons for Boris Johnson

Maybe reopening pubs and restaurants before Christmas wasn't such a good idea.

Christmas shoppers let their guard down.

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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Optimism about Covid-19 vaccines has quickly turned to pessimism about how slowly they’re being rolled out — and the grim realization that stay-at-home restrictions will be with us for longer as a result.

This is being felt acutely in Europe, where Brits are now in their third national lockdown, barely a month after the second one ended. Ireland has also reintroduced tougher curbs. Both countries have seen cases and hospitalizations pile up this winter.