By Anne Swardson

Starting today, masks are required on French public transportation, part of the transition out of our 56-day coronavirus lockdown. Based on what I’ve seen recently, many Parisians have a case of wardrobe malfunction.

“Judging by how they wear their masks, one-third of people around Paris think you catch COVID-19 via your chin,” said my friend Del in a Facebook post.

Yet wearing masks correctly is crucial when people are circulating more, to protect those around you. If you remove and then replace your mask, your fingers might become contaminated. Government websites explain this clearly.

This is especially true for health workers, who are also required to wear masks. The clinic in the photo below just reopened today; rather disturbing that this worker is breaking the mask rules AND doesn’t have proper outerwear. He’s holding a cigarette in his left hand.

More than 30% of the French wear masks regularly, according to a recent survey. But I wonder if the surveyors asked how people actually use them, or what else they do at the same time.

Maybe people are confused because the government has changed its tune on masks, which officials said at the beginning of the pandemic weren’t needed or useful. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe now says they should be worn “as much as possible.” (The Washington Post’s James McAuley wrote an interesting story about the paradoxical view that allows France to require masks and ban burqas.)

True, plenty of people do wear them over both nose and mouth.

Television news today shows Métro and suburban trains overly packed with people, but all wearing masks. As for as I can tell, correctly.

That will be costly: The local pharmacie charges €47 ($52) for a box of 50, the maximum price allowed.  Happily, the city of Paris is giving each resident a reusable cloth mask. I just signed up to pick ours up, on Friday. I’ll be interested to see if they come with instructions.