By Anne Swardson

In France, there are some rules that must be obeyed and others that can be ignored. The trick for non-natives is to figure out which is which.

Owners of some of the small shops in my neighborhood, and elsewhere, must know something I don’t. Two weeks before the official phase-out of the coronavirus lockdown is to begin, they are opening up.

This florist is operating only out on the sidewalk, taking orders, and payment, for deliveries. Apparently that makes it legal.

Flowers are cherished in France. Chocolate-store owners must think their product is too, though there was no sign here of outdoor sales or delivery. Candy stores aren’t on the long list of retail establishments deemed essential, such as supermarkets, produce vendors, laundries, pharmacies and, of course, wine stores and bakeries.

The list says nothing about coffee-and-tea-equipment stores either.

The press reports that a few toy stores are starting to open as well. If I’d been cooped up in an apartment with small children for the last 42 days, I’d welcome that.

Factories, such as those of carmakers Renault and Peugeot, have begun to operate with government permission, under strict sanitary rules. Ditto for construction. But I can’t find any reference to non-essential retail stores getting an exemption.

I wonder if shopkeepers are just getting fed up with staying closed and making a bet that if they keep their heads down they won’t get fined. Much of the same seems to be true with people. There is certainly more crowding at the local street market.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will reveal the details of the phaseout on April 28. The government has already announced that schools will reopen starting on May 11, but much has to be figured out before then. The youngest and most disadvantaged children will start first, and only in classes of 15 students. Bear in mind that most classes in France have at least 30 children, regardless of age. It’s not clear what happens to the other 15+.

There’s also a report that junior-high and high-school students will be required to wear masks. That I have to see. And of course there will be social distancing, disinfecting and so on. It won’t surprise you to learn that some teachers’ unions have already announced a plan to strike.

But what is the government supposed to do? France has successfully reduced the number of new cases and the number of beds used in the ICU. The curve has been largely flat for two weeks, the generally accepted benchmark. Viewed against the chaos in the U.S., it’s hard to imagine President Emmanuel Macron and his government could continue this economically painful lockdown much longer.

Maybe that’s what the shopkeepers are betting on.