Why there is to be no french kissing as coronavirus hits france

Kissing Goodbye To La Bise

The news has the country in something of a meltdown. First they have to deal with the coronavirus, then to add insult to injury, the bise must go–for now. “Neither a kiss nor a handshake: how to greet each other at the time of the coronavirus?” questioned the Nouvel Obs.

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The French are greeting, the lack of greeting, with a lot of humour. “So the next Champions League games will be played without the traditional handshake between the players and the referees before kick-off,” continued the Nouvel Obs. “The same during the televised debates scheduled before the (French) municipal elections of March 15 and 22: candidates must refrain from shaking hands?

“The coronavirus forces us all to rethink how we greet each other. Mocked by our Anglo-Saxon neighbors, the bise is to be avoided these days. What to do then? Wave a hand? A footshake? Or a ‘fist bump’ Barack Obama-style? A ‘Thai wai’ perhaps?”

Former French health minister and doctor, Agnès Buzyn joined the kissing catastrophe, telling BFMTV that Parisians, «within a week», would probably also greet each other «with their elbows», to compensate.

Out of the question, the weekly news magazine concluded, “given the fact that the government is calling precisely on people to sneeze into their elbows (to reduce the spread of microbes when in public).” And that according to the WHO, «Studies suggest that coronaviruses can survive on surfaces for a period ranging from a few hours to several days … So forget the greeting by the elbow.”

So Where Did La Bise Begin

Mathieu Avanzi, a lecturer in linguistics at the Sorbonne, believes the tradition dates to Antiquity, when food was pre-chewed by parents, then fed to children. “This gesture would have evolved over time into a kiss,” he said.

So indeed the phenomenon of the bise has become a lot more palatable in time, only not it seems in times of the Plague–or any other infectious diseases. Avanzi says the bise has had a patchy history, and this is not the first time it has been scorned upon. “Sometimes it has been prohibited during episodes of epidemics, then authorized again. Kissing was also completely banned between men for a long time, although it is coming back a bit today.”

Actually he says, the gesture is a “fairly European ritual”, in Catholic and Orthodox countries. Instantly images of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, wholeheartedly receiving Macron’s charmingly delivered bise–or ducking Donald Trump’s rather clumsy smackers on her cheek, come to mind. But nowhere is the bise celebrated with such finesse and elegance as in France.

Whereas Avanzi adds, “In China, for example, you don’t touch each other at all to say hello.” Which might be just as well, right now.

Donald Trump kisses German Chancellor Angela Merkel with a French style bise, or peck on the cheek, … to greet her at the G7 summit in France (Photo by Michael Kappeler)

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Some may well be feeling a sense of relief, for not everyone loves la bise, at the best of times. Rather they feel it is something that is forced upon them. Or even a time-waster (by the time you give 4 kisses to everyone in the room at a party).

One French expert in contemporary etiquette and savoir-faire even thinks it’s an opportunity to get more sincere about greetings. «We can position ourselves in front of the person we want to greet, look them in the eye, without staring, and greet them with an open face, saying ‘Hello Monsieur or Madame’,” Philippe Lichtfus told the France Bleu program.

Finally, you could say that the risks associated with la bise depends on which part of France you are in. It took me ages to adjust to the un, deux, trois, quatres bises in different regions. Sometimes I had already ripped my cheek away, when the fourth kiss was just about to land. Doing so in some funny, even awkward, places. Which is clearly what happened between Trump and Merkel, going by some of the photos. Maybe she got tired of waiting for him to deliver … or maybe still, he had failed to start the kisses on the right instead of the left, and was all out of sync.

During the coronavirus kissing ban, officials too must practice what they preach and content … themselves with long intense stares such as this. Here French President Emmanuel Macron greets US First Lady Melania Trump during the August 2019 G7 Summit in France (Photo NICHOLAS KAMM)

AFP via Getty Images

Avoid kissing as coronavirus crisis grows, says renowned scientist Lord Winston

• The professor at Imperial College said people should desist from the gesture 
• Broadcaster revealed two people had tried to plant a smacker on him yesterday
• His concerns were echoed by  Lord Bethell, who cautioned over the practice 
• Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

Published: 02:19 GMT, 4 March 2020 | Updated: 07:46 GMT, 4 March 2020

A leading UK scientist has advised the public to temporarily shun social kissing to avoid spreading coronavirus.

Lord Winston, a Labour peer and professor at Imperial College London, said people should desist from the friendly gesture.

During a Westminster debate yesterday, he revealed two people had tried to plant a kiss on him that day, but warned it was ‘something that we should not be doing.

The world-leading fertility expert said: ‘It seems to me that simply not shaking hands is only part of the problem.

‘Social kissing seems, to me, something that we should not be doing. It’s very easy to do that.

Lord Winston, a Labour peer and professor at Imperial College London, said people should desist from the friendly gesture

Face masks have become an increasingly common sight on the streets of London as concern about coronavirus rises 

‘Somebody has tried to kiss me twice today and I don’t mean in a way that my wife, who might be listening, is concerned.

‘We have to realise we should not be touching our nose, our mouth, our eyes.’

His concerns were echoed by Tory Lord Bethell, who cautioned over the practice and also pointed out the ‘real problem’ was people touching their nose on average up to 100 times a day. 

Lord Bethell said: ‘Kissing is wonderful but potentially dangerous.’

He added: ‘We have had detailed conversations about kissing, shaking hands, fist-bumping and all manner of social intercourse.

‘The guidance from the chief medical officer is clear. It is the touching of your own nose that is the real problem.

‘The average person touches their own nose between 70 and 100 times a day. That is why we focus on the message of washing hands.

The Government and Boris Johnson has stressed the importance of the public washing their hands thoroughly on a regular basis in an effort to prevent infection. 

‘Because if your hands are clean, it doesn’t matter how many times you touch your nose.

‘But if they are dirty, whether through shaking hands or by touching a door handle or whatever it is, the germs are there and they can be conveyed. That is why we focus on that.’ 

The Conservative peer made his comments as the House of Lords questioned the Government over its battle plan to tackle the spread of Covid-19. 

The Government has stressed the importance of the public washing their hands thoroughly on a regular basis in an effort to prevent infection. 

The 27-page document was published as it was revealed that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK had risen to 51.