Snapshots from Europe: how three cities are responding to the Coronavirus crisis

Last year, I spent three months travelling to see what three of Europe’s lesser-known cities showed about life on the Continent in the twenty-first century. Geographically, culturally and economically distinctive, each place — with its own legacy from the past and priorities for the future — illustrates a different aspect of Europe and the challenges it faces.

Now, with the evolving Corona crisis, I’ve popped back — virtually, of course — to see how the three cities are faring. And I’m finding that, once again, the response of each reveals much about its identity and sense of its place in the world, demonstrating that even in times of trouble Europe is fascinating in its diversity.

Europe the Old: Cadiz

The lives of the inhabitants of this tiny city packed onto a promontory in the Atlantic have undergone a dramatic change under Europe’s toughest lockdown. With their reputation for humour and fun, Gaditanos are highly sociable people, accustomed to spending much of their time in the city’s plazas, bars and cafes, while Cadiz’s famous carnival draws thousands of visitors each year. Now, under a confinement in which even exercise is banned, the streets and beaches are empty and residents shut in their apartments.

Now in its second month, Spain’s strict lockdown is generating protests about the effects of the lockdown on children particularly, with the result that the government has promised a minor lifting of restrictions at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, with Andalucia less affected by the virus than some other parts of the country, locals are pushing to be one of the first areas to return to normality in the event of a region-by-region exit strategy.

The region was particularly badly hit by the unemployment which afflicted Spain in the wake of the banking crisis, and many fear the economic consequences of the lockdown. With Cadiz’s economy reliant on tourism, local business people are warning that plans to restrict the use of beaches this summer could have dire effects.