Even if a number of employees are still working from home, more and more cross-border commuters are starting to return to Luxembourg, mainly from France.
Take Benoît Martin for instance. He has been commuting to Luxembourg for the past 11 years in order to make his living here.
The reopening of the retail sector on Monday has meant a change in routine for the French citizen. Benoît does not worry about being stuck in traffic anymore. Instead, he now has to check every morning if he has all of his new equipment with him: Disinfectant, gloves, and of course his mask.
Thankfully, traffic on the A31 to Luxembourg was not too bad in the morning. Initially, Benoît thought that cross-border commuters would prefer to take their own cars in order to avoid public transport and thereby a possible infection with Covid-19. However, this was apparently not the case. In other good news: There were no border controls between France and Luxembourg in the morning. According to Benoît, they only occurred rarely anyway.
However, entering the business has changed significantly: each employee has their temperature taken before being allowed inside. The head of the safety department, Patrick Nemry, also points out the new fixed pathways which are expected to help reduce any unnecessary contact.
Working from home for the past 2 months has brought a new dynamic. Staff required to be on site has been decreased by 50%. All that is left to do is get used to the new sanitary measures.
Video in Luxembourgish
