Curfews have a dark history: no wonder people are resisting them in the pandemic

Over Christmas, the Canadian province of Quebec imposed a curfew on its citizens. This curfew, like lockdowns, mask mandates and other restrictions, was aimed at stemming the latest omicron-fuelled pandemic tide. Starting on New Year’s Eve, the curfew required citizens to be at home between 10pm and 5am.

Though curfews have not been a hot topic in the UK, they have been deployed relatively frequently as a response to the pandemic around the globe. In 2021, several European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and France, imposed curfews of varying lengths. And in Canada, Quebec imposed its first curfew on January 9 – only ending it in late May 2021. More recently, in response to the omicron variant, India also introduced curfews, of varying lengths, in 30 states.

Despite the relative ubiquity of curfews, and despite the relative acceptance of the curfew in Quebec last year, this time the policy was met with criticism, derision and defiance. Quebec political analyst Patrick Déry tweeted over the first weekend of 2022: “I have never felt so infantilized by the government.”