Much of the world is wondering if the worst of Covid has run its course. So why, nearly four years on, is the country where the coronavirus originated still under lock and key? Rare scenes of protest out of China, like in its most populous metropolis Shanghai, have spread during a weekend when citizens clamoured for an end to draconian confinements.
In a nation of 1.4 billion, rallies of several thousand can perhaps seem small. But they point to promises made in the wake of last month's Communist Party congress that was supposed to signal a loosening of lockdowns. Why is the recently re-elected Xi Jinping doubling down, with a handful of cases enough to shut down entire cities? Are Chinese vaccines really that ineffective in the face of the Omicron variant?
Will authorities bend or will it end in a crackdown? More broadly, what's next for China's social contract, the one where citizens stay out of politics and the government guarantees growth and stability in exchange? Has an invisible coronavirus broken the trust between the regime and its people?
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Louise Guibert.
