Wearing face masks in public transport is now compulsory in France as a means to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But will this alter our social interactions? “It's creating a new mode of communication, but it also is a symbol of fear,” says Jonathan Metzl, psychiatrist and sociologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, in an interview with FRANCE 24. Metzl says face masks have also "become very political" in countries like the US, where President Donald Trump and his entourage refuse to wear masks "because they feel like they show weakness".
