As a fellow owner, I hope I can do my part in fighting this war, keeping my animals and my family healthy. | Photo: Christa Lesté-Lasserre

The windows are open. A quiet breeze flutters in. The sun reflects off the shiny backs of my bay and black Trakehners in their grassy field behind my house. It’s a peaceful scene, and in any other situation it might be an idyllic holiday in the French countryside.

But that’s not what this is. This is Day 8 of official confinement in France due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government orders just got stricter as of Tuesday (March 24). This isn’t peace. “We’re at war,” President Emmanuel Macron said again and again and again, like a battle drum during his stately speech telling his 70 million citizens that, until further notice, they can’t leave their homes except for the “essentials”—food, mainly, or health care, or “tending to the needs of your companion animals.”

We can’t go out without release papers that state our address, reason for being out, and the time we left home. Police controls are happening everywhere, and first offenses are punished by $US150 fines. As of Tuesday, second offenses carry a fine of $US1,800, and third offenses are punishable by a $US4,200 fine and up to six months in jail